The Drawing Board
by Against.The.Current
Summary: Opening chapters of Self-Insert or Original Character stories from various fandoms which I may or may not continue in the future. So far: Naruto, Skyrim.
1. Naruto: Soul Switch

A.N.: I wrote this before I started work on Memories of Rain and thus is has a lot in common with its later incarnation. It is another SI, this time the protagonist is reincarnated as Haruno Sakura rather than an original character and the story is generally lighter and less realistic. **I DOUBT I WILL CONTINUE THIS** since MoR is so similar... but I may touch upon the verse again. Please excuse any errors, I was not as strict with my editing as usual.

I hope this somewhat makes up for being so late with MoR- thank you everyone for all your lovely reviews and support!

* * *

Soul Switch

* * *

I woke up screaming with blood all over me.

It's not as bad as it sounds, although traumatic in its own way. I had just been born. Or rather, little Haruno Sakura had been born, pink tresses drenched a sanguine hue and an interloper behind leaf green eyes.

It may have been weeks or even months before I fully recovered a sense of self and when I did it was another self, in body if not mind. Later I would put the confusion down to an infantile brain, unable to keep up with the sheer volume of memories I possessed and the neural pathways whirling to get them in order and reforge what I had lost for a time.

My sight was blurry at first as well, when I finally opened my eyes, and the smiling faces of my new parents were well-meaning blurs as they and various other relatives cooed at me.

Even now, I'm unsure if I acted like a normal baby at that time. Or whether my silence and looks of bemused concentration was put down to the late birth and those faces babies often make, before they memorize more expressions to make.

But soon the world became clear and I was grasping and gurgling and translating what my new parents were saying with the Japanese I already knew. My bank of words and phrases swiftly grew, the gaps being filled in with both baby talk and more sensible vocabulary.

_No, Sakura-chan, don't touch. No. That's not a toy. Do you want your doll? Here you go. See, she's happy to see you!_

It was so similar to Japan, I thought it really was at first. The language and etiquette of a parent-child relationship were very distinct to me, though I was not as well versed in other Asian cultures I was able to confirm my suspicions linguistically. When the blurry shapes focused into bright hair of red and white respectively I was certain my parents were gaijin living long-term in Japan.

My new father had three days away from work at his architectural office for the birth and it was an unpaid holiday, not paternity leave, so when he swept in late at night during one of my night time feedings it was a rare and oddly cherished event.

When my new mother began raising me, playing on the floor or on the lawn and teaching me to walk and talk, it was expected that her husband would not be home until late and that no matter what time he arrived she would be ready to greet him with a hot meal. Her life was solely dedicated to three facets of her life: her husband, the house and me.

_Oh, Nadeskiko-san! Is this little Sakura-chan? She's as cute as a button, isn't she?_

I left the house quite frequently from a few days after the- _my _birth. Nadeshiko had been adamant about getting back on her feet rather than being cooped up in bed. My birth, although a little later than expected, had not been a very stressful one as far as those things went. For these excursions I was pinned down in a sling against my mother's breast and although it was not uncomfortable, especially for my weak neck, it was frustrating not being able to flail my little fists and feet like they so wanted to do.

But I learned on these expeditions, as it seemed my new mother was a rambler. Either she was aware of the importance of adjusting infants to speech or she was merely glad my presence gave her an excuse to talk out loud.

_Would tou-chan like some daikon for dinner tonight? Dai-kon. Can you say 'daikon'?_

"Aaai." I yawned, forming my first semi-intelligible sound on my fifth day of rebirth and this was instantly taken as a sign that I was some kind of genius, with the sort of certainty only a new mother can have. Neither Nadeshiko nor Hama-san, who was running the stall, really considered the possibility that I was anything more than a little precocious. One time was probably a fluke anyway.

It was only after I settled into my new brain, still stretched tight like new leather shoes, that I really began to make good on Nadeskiko's proclamation of 'genius'.

* * *

"Kaa-chan, I'm thirsty." I tugged at Nadeskiko's long skirt, already well versed in using it to pull myself upright, or to catch myself if I fell. I was four months old when things finally all clicked into place, leaving me feeling at least as mentally capable as when I died, if not more so with the rate I absorbed new knowledge.

Now I was at the six month mark, forming small yet complete sentences and well able to do a lot more. Most my 'age' were only beginning to associate items they dropped with the sound that happened directly after.

"Okay then, juice it is. What kind do you want?" Every time Nadeshiko asked a question like this is was like she was testing me, not quite believing the results, though delighted all the same.

"Grape." That was one thing that hadn't changed, it was still my drink of choice. Although I was trying to stay on breast milk as long as possible as well (although it was rather embarrassing, frankly) because that had direct impact on developing brains and immune systems. I supplemented that diet with juice and fruit mash, if only so I wouldn't die of boredom. I suddenly realised my manners, while Nadeskiko was slowly walking my skirt handhold to the fridge. "Grape, _please._"

She laughed, "of course. Here you go. Now what do you say?"

"Thank you, kaa-chan." I slurped the dark purple beverage hungrily, my chubby hands on both handles, loving how the flavour burst on my tongue. My support forgotten, I soon ended up on my well padded bottom, seeing the kitchen tiles and Nadeshiko's ankles from an even lower angle.

"Whoops-a-daisy." I was scooped up and inspected for tears. I had only cried a few times since the earliest stages of development, when I had scraped myself in the garden for instance. My skin was so very new, my senses on hyper-alert for even the tiniest thing.

At the moment, Nadeshiko's stance was to treat me like a fragile vase but not look a gift horse in the mouth when it failed to shatter on the floor. "No worries. What a big girl." I wondered if there was any bitterness around that statement; I hadn't needed the sort of intense coddling a regular child needed and Nadeshko might be missing that part of being a mother. Had I still been a Scottish baby, I would have kissed her cheek sloppily and giggled, I would have known the protocol but even infanthood was steeped in a strange etiquette here. Japanese parents did not kiss their children.

I sucked the last drop out of the plastic container and proclaimed. "Done!"

"Good girl. Grapes are very good for you." Nadeshiko commended.

"Fruit." I nodded with put-upon wisdom (which wasn't really) and I received a giggle for my efforts, my mother's (for there seems little point calling her 'new' all the time) green eyes lit up, a few shades darker than my pale jade ones.

It had been a shock the first time I saw a mirror. That was when the other shoe had well and truly dropped. With wonderful, horrifying clarity.

"Are you still thirsty?" Distracted from my dark thoughts, I nodded. Nadeshiko drew me into her lap at the kitchen table and pulled down the collar of her dress.

* * *

"Shinobi-san!" I called gleefully, waving both my arms, along with my favourite toy: the rainbow coloured windmill. Nadeshiko adjusted me good-naturedly, now used to the event of my happy shrieks.

The ANBU dropped down from the rooftop to the street along-side us. The special units: ANBU and hunter-nin alike had been more visually active lately, everyone more tense than usual as if waiting for the other shoe to drop as the days steadily approached October tenth.

Inu cocked his head, coming to the conclusion that it was me and not my mother who had called. I had an impressive set of lungs on me but had worked hard not to shriek so high-pitched, as that grated on my ears as well as everyone else's.

"I'm sorry, she has this thing with shinobi, I hope she didn't disturb you." Nadeshiko explained patiently, for what seemed the hundredth time. I had racked up quite a list of acquaintances, a few I knew and many I didn't. It was disheartening to think how many active ninja would die before my graduation.

"Shinobi-san," I babbled happily, knowing exactly who was under that porcelain mask., "you were _flying_!"

Kakashi, only a teenager now, let out an audible exhalation through the nose holes of his mask. It sounded like a smile. "Aa."

"It was amazing!" I endorsed, with all the enthusiasm of a child and the older fan hiding behind her face. "Going _whoosh _across all those big gaps!"

"Hmm?" Kakashi had lost Obito (and perhaps Rin as well) years ago and had yet to settle fully into the persona I was familiar with but the tone was familiar. "How many jumps did you count?"

"This many!" I held up four chubby fingers.

"Very good." I could imagine the u-shaped smile. He looked at Nadeshiko, the weight of his gaze making up for the lack of proper eye-to-eye contact.

She took it in stride, as she had with every enquiry about me, and answered pridefully. "Sakura-chan is very smart for her age."

I was tempted to say something along the lines of 'inu-san is too' but that might have been taking it too far. Kakashi was tall enough to be an adult now and he certainly had the physique for it, it would be suspicious for a civilian child to guess his age as any younger.

"Do you like dogs?" I patted Kakashi's cheek, over the red lines curving into a canine face, squirming my hand away when Nadeshiko tried to reel it back in.

"Yes. They make good companions."

"I like cats." I confided. "They're my favourite animal. Except for dragons and unicorns and faeries." I added and was treated to another almost silent smile. "But I haven't seen any in Konoha."

"Aa." Kakashi took the the bait. "Dragons and unicorns and faeries all live very far away."

"You've seen them?" I gasped on cue.

"Maa, a few here and there."

"_Wow!"_

"Say goodbye, Sakura-chan, we have to let ANBU-san back to work. Thank you for indulging her." She added to Kakashi.

"It was refreshing." He shrugged. "Bye bye, little lady." He waved lazily, not waiting for my reply before leaping back onto the rooftops, much to my delight (it was not completely feigned) and pattering applause.

* * *

Konoha seemed to always be bathed in light. The sun took some getting used to, although the regularity of it's visits helped in that regard. It was also able to bear down on her with practically no effect, Haruno Sakura had always been pale and now I was her.

Nadeshiko and I were out again, or rather, my mother was taking me for a walk, carrying me when my totters produced too many stumbles or there were too many people I could get under the feet of. I hid behind her russet curls when she held me, too shy at the attention I was granted just for being small and cute, with pinchable cheeks and tiny toes. When hiding didn't make them leave me alone I worked on ignoring them instead. At six months, I reasoned, I wasn't required to be very polite yet.

I had my brightly coloured windmill held in one fist and coaxed it to spin with much waving or blowing when there was no breeze to hand. This, I will admit, would have been pretty entertaining to me even if I had still been in my twenties physically. There was something captivating about the colours blending with one another as the blades spun, the wind whipping up that swooshing noise. I giggled, endlessly entertained no matter my real age and happy to indulge in the expression of it without garnering odd looks.

"Are you certain?" Nadeshiko's tone pulled me from my self imposed mental exile. "But, surely- it wouldn't come here? We've done nothing to anger it-"

"Kaa-chan?" She flinched, remembering belatedly that she wasn't the only one present and I did indeed understand most conversations by now. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, little flower." Nadeshiko only called me that when she was over compensating, usually when her husband, Yukito was going to be staying at the office overnight. It felt like more than that though. Nadeshiko bid goodbye to our neighbour and continued to the market, holding me a little too tightly to be comfortable.

If I had been tall enough to read our calendar, I would have known it was October first, six months to the day after my rebirth and only nine days until Naruto would be born.

On a day of blood and screaming much unlike my own.

* * *

The day was too soon in coming and before I knew it I was being carried through the streets, by my mother as usual, but now with my father in tow. Yukito was subconsciously shielding us with his body, afraid that something might explode or shatter in our direction. The Kyuubi was not yet at the gates but the fear was palatable in the air, the distance to the tunnels under the Hokage mountain so very far and the roars of the rampaging beast already resounding through the forest valley.

"Everyone keep together!" A genin boy, who looked no more than ten years old, directed them and several of their neighbours down the residential street. His team mates were dealing with other evacuation groups and his sensei was no where in sight. Gone ahead most likely, to buy them all more time to escape.

I gripped my mother's blouse in one hand, my father's white ponytail in the other, keeping my family together. "It's going to be all right, hime-chan." Yukito rubbed my cheek, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

I didn't let them go, not even when we were finally underground, guided by the light of torches and the sound of young ninja's voices. The professional demeanour of our guide dropped from the boy like a cloak to the dusty stone floor. He leaned against the wall as if it were all that kept him upright and breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the tension in our group dropped away when he did and people began settling down, our cave one of hundreds in an elaborate system of tunnels under the mountain and already occupied by other survivors.

Wriggling from my mother's hold was a difficult task but when it became clear that I was going further into the cave, not away from it, she let me go reluctantly.

First things first, I tottered to our young guide, now on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chest. "What's your name?"

His dark eyes focused on me with much effort, he looked a little pale. "Gekko Hayate."

I patted his knee. "Thank you for bringing us here, Hayate-san." I chirped cheerfully, only now recognising the would-be chuunin examiner. He lacked the dark circles under his eyes, as well as the wet coughing sickness and he wore a standard forehead protector instead of one that covered most of his brown hair.

"You're welcome." He smiled faintly, as if pained and this time I hugged his knees before stumbling into my father's embrace.

"You have our thanks as well, Hayate-kun." Yukito bowed awkwardly now that he'd scooped me up, Nadeshiko and our non-shinobi neighbours following suit.

"It was so hectic out there," Fumi-san, one of my mother's friends and my occasional babysitter, added, one wrinkled hand to her kimono-clad chest. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

Hayate blushed a little and hid his smile behind his knees.

"Well," Nadeskiko clapped her hands. "Why don't we have something to eat? I hope the bentou I brought is big enough for everyone. Anata?"

"Oh? Oh!" Yukito removed his pack, jostling me about in a ticklish way before getting both straps off his shoulders. My mother unwrapped the parcel, a multi-tiered bentou that she had begun preparing as soon as the first stand-by warning had gone out that morning. Now in the afternoon and with few having eaten lunch in the excitement, everyone was hungry.

It was the oddest picnic I'd ever been to. Huddled in a cave with the acrid smell of torches lighting our surrounds, with the threat of a giant chakra monster outside that I knew would eventually reach Konoha. Everyone still managed to chat, even laugh a little and pull out their own supplies to share amidst the group.

I fell asleep, full to busting from mashed banana and my mother's milk, feeling the warmth of the people around me, unafraid.

* * *

The sound of crying woke me up. It was a baby crying, that was for certain, there was no mistaking that pitch or volume.

Nadeshiko looked particularly concerned, if I had ever cried like that I certainly grew out of it quickly. Now her maternal instincts were in overdrive but she couldn't move while I was still sprawled across her lap.

"Kaa-chan, who's crying?"

"A baby in another cave, sweetie. You can go back to sleep."

"Nah." I wriggled away, unsurprised when Nadeshiko followed after me in pursuit of the sound. Yukito looked up from his game of cards, looked considering for a moment but continued playing for sweets with his friend from the architecture firm.

The sound had bounced off several cave walls before reaching us so it look a few turns before we found the source. Nadeshiko frowned all the while, keeping to the left side of the cave wall and noting the turns. I had never been very systematic in my exploration so left that to her as I followed my ears.

"Shh, shhhh." A young boy with dark hair tried to soothe who I assumed was his younger sibling. I had a sneaky suspicion who it was when I saw the red and white Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back of his shirt. The others in the group they were with looked put out by the noise, although they were all civilians or academy students there were some older than the five year old boy who could have helped with the baby.

"Someone's a little grumpy, hmm?" Nadeshiko commented good-naturedly. "Is it just the two of you?" She acted like the unhelpfuls didn't exist.

Itachi turned, eyeing my mother with what bordered on wariness, still rocking Sasuke. "Otou-sama and okaa-sama are helping protect the village."

"And you are being a good big brother." Nadeshiko smoothed Itachi's long hair, either not noticing or choosing to ignore how the five year old looked at her so incredulously for the gesture.

"What's his name?" I piped up.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"And yours?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Haruno Sakura. This is my kaa-chan!"

"Haruno Nadeshiko, it's lovely to meet you, Itachi-kun." Her smile was strained over the wailing. "May I?" She dropped to her knees and held out her arms, releasing my hand and leaving me free to settle by Itachi's side.

He gave his brother over reluctantly, admitting: "I don't know why he's crying. He's not wet or cold and he won't eat."

"Maybe a change?" My mother checked Sasuke's onesie-clad bottom. "Nope, all dry. No fever," she check his forehead. "Won't eat, you said?"

"No, okaa-sama left bottles of formula, maybe he doesn't like them?" He produced a baby bottle from a bag at his side and Nadeshiko checked the temperature with a splash on her hand.

"Cold. That will be why. Babies like warm milk after all."

"Oh." Itachi frowned. "I could try heating it. I think I could alter a fire jutsu to not produce flames."

"You're a ninja?" Nadeshiko blinked before correcting herself, "of course, you're an Uchiha, how silly of me. No, that's quite all right, you might burn the milk and that would be yucky. Wouldn't it?" She asked Sasuke, bouncing him on her knee. "Wouldn't burnt formula milk be yucky?"

"I'm sure I could mange it." Itachi frowned, looking faintly obstinate.

"I think I have an easier solution, Itachi-kun." Nadeshiko rocked baby Sasuke in one arm and pulled down her dress in a practised motion with her free hand. Some old ladies in the corner, who had done nothing to help the siblings earlier, gasped and tutted at my mother's audacity.

"Disgraceful." One old hag muttered.

"It's perfectly natural." I protested. "Better to offend than Sasuke-chan to go hungry."

The woman glared at my mother, now suckling a content Sasuke. "I see your daughter is learning your uncouth behaviour. Did you teach her to say that by route?" She sniped.

"Not at all," Nadeshiko commented matter of fact, "my daughter has her own mind and is smart enough to use it."

"Itachi," I piped up, effectively cutting off any retorts from the peanut gallery. "Do you want to see my favourite toy?"

"Okay." He nodded, not looking particularly enthused but willing to indulge.

I rummaged in my mother's baby bag, it being an almost permanent attachment to her body, especially since the evacuation became imminent. With a little effort I unearthed my pin-wheel toy and held it up for inspection.

"Very nice." He informed, dutifully.

I blew in demonstration and the pin-wheel spun in a blur of colour. He returned the gesture, spinning it in my direction this time and I giggled. Was I really making the fearsome Uchiha Itachi play like a normal child?

I handed the toy off to Itachi and he used it to great effect to keep Sasuke entertained. Then I got out my crayons and drawing pad. It wasn't too hard to keep my 'pictures' mere scribbles, my manual dexterity wasn't anything to write home about as I had to hold the implement in my whole fist. I delighted Nadeshiko with another drawing to add to her collection on the fridge door which I claimed was a field of pink flowers. The blur of green and pink was abstract to say the least.

When Sasuke had had his fill and fallen asleep, the four of us left for the other cave, leaving the clucking hens and their lofty atmosphere behind.

* * *

Our house wasn't damaged too badly when we got back, though cracked foundations were rife in our sector. Ours was a two story semi-detached house, made with the same higgledy-piggledy patchwork sense as the rest of the village. It seemed strange that in a world where numerous people could make houses out of stone in minutes that they would continue to maintain wooden buildings that had been put up decades ago. Something about respecting the Shodaime's memory, no doubt. Or keeping carpenters in business.

Nadeshiko was currently putting buckets under the obvious cracks on the first floor while I rolled about in the living room on the ground floor with my toys. I was building a palace for Princess Snooty-Britches out of blocks and the blonde rag doll looked decidedly unimpressed with my efforts.

"Kaa-chan!" I called, deciding I had been left alone long enough without complaint. "Can I go see Itachi today?"

"What?" Nadeshiko called over the banister. "Oh no, sweetie, I'm sure his parents are very busy."

I frowned, "but then won't Itachi be all alone with Sasuke again?" Mikoto had resumed active jounin duty during the Kyuubi crisis but I wasn't sure if that was going to still be the case, until the village got back on its feet. I didn't know very much about Itachi and Sasuke's earliest years.

Nadeshiko brushed a curl behind one ear, a habit of hers when she was being diplomatic. "I don't think Itachi's parents would want us to see him right now."

"Why?" I asked, every bit a stubborn infant.

"Well... Itachi's parents are very important ninja and the Uchiha are very-" she used a word I wasn't familiar with, in both my lifetimes.

"They're very what?"

"Oh! Oh my, sometimes I forget I'm not talking to an adult, you're so mature, Sakura-chan."

"Kaa-chaaaan!" I moaned, making her giggle though I myself was just feeling frustrated.

"It means that the Uchiha keep to themselves. They live in Uchiha houses and shop at Uchiha stores. Their children are taught at home by other Uchiha until they go to the Academy or, sometimes a civilian school."

Oh, _isolationist_, I'd have to remember that one.

"So..." A cocked my head, with what I hoped was an air of innocent, child-like guile. "Itachi's whole family is lonely?"

Nadeshiko sighed. "I'll write a letter. Goodness knows I can't just waltz into their complex..."

"Thank you, kaa-chan!" I hugged her legs and started giving her the grand tour of Princess Snooty-Britches lacklustre palace.

* * *

The return letter was a disappointing one. The Haruno family were not a ninja clan, nor did they have any political clout. Worse still, when Itachi told his parents that his new-found friend was less than a year old I was deemed as being too far below his intellectual level as well as his social one. Perhaps approaching as a playmate for Sasuke would have been better, but he didn't speak and by the time he learned he would have forgotten me.

It was the first time I'd cried tears of sorrow in my new life. Perhaps it had been a romantic idea but I thought my influence might have helped Itachi escape Madara's plot. If I worked my way into his confidence now...

I might become his best friend. Itachi had to kill his best friend to activate the second stage of his sharingan.

A cold sweat broke over me and I went so pale that Nadeshiko was half way out the door with me on route to the hospital before I convinced her I was all right.

If I didn't succeed in out-witting an immortal megalomaniac then Itachi would kill me in cold blood years before I could even graduate from the Academy.

Sasuke's friendship would be easier to gain and, although I was confident I would easily be a better companion than Shisui, I couldn't imagine replacing Naruto as Sasuke's best friend. Naruto would survive the murder attempt, I probably wouldn't.

Naruto was another matter for concern, he would need someone there for him, his childhood had been canonically hellish and he came out of it woefully unprepared to be a ninja. The only problem would be making sure I wasn't labelled a social pariah alongside Minato's child. If I made friends with Sasuke first, was maybe able to get them on good terms early on, Sasuke's reputation would bolster Naruto's with the younger generation.

I drank the grape juice Nadeshiko had bribed me with from my sippy cup, my concentration so intense that I was left sucking on the nib long after it had been drained dry. Across the table, my mother watched me with a morbidly fascinated expression. I probably looked like one of those evil online baby memes at that moment.

"Kaa-chan." I proclaimed with great dignity, my cheeks still stinging from my earlier tears. "I'm going to be a ninja."

* * *

That had probably been a bad thing to say. No mother wants to hear that their child is going to fight wars, kill people and probably die an early death in the process. Especially when that child is contemplating that lifestyle at less than a year old.

Yukito had a long talk with me, after the one I had with Nadeshiko and after arguing with him as well I was introduced to the naughty step.

The injustice! The humiliation! My cheeks burned as I counted down the seconds of my three minute sentence and prepared my counter argument.

After two and a half minutes, I realised that would be stupid. This reaction needed to be worn away slowly. Breaking it to them now and being stubborn about it would only make them dig their heels in later. I knew enough psychology to be familiar with that!

I apologised for getting angry (not for wanting to be a ninja, I think they noticed that but let it go) and I was drawn into a family cuddle and I got my hair stroked by my father's long fingers until I fell asleep in a boneless lump and was carried to bed.

* * *

Apart from the Uchiha family in the caves, I had had very little interaction with children my 'own age' but as Konoha's renewal was well under way and I was now older, Nadeshiko began attending social events in the neighbourhood again.

Not that a barbecue seemed like much of a social event, even with the interaction dry-spell I'd had but it was better than nothing.

"Hmm." I hadn't been the mistress of my own wardrobe for approximately eight months but at least I was allowed to chose now, rather than everything getting laid out on the bed for me every morning. An awful lot was white, green or powder blue, thankfully the brighter shades of pink had been vetoed by Nadeshiko since Barbie hues would would be an awful sight next to copper locks and only seek to wash out my own hair.

Maybe I could sneak in some purple at a later date. I'd have to check against my natural palate but I should be able to get away with lilac at least.

"The green one." I pointed to a white dress splashed with green leaves like ferns. Nadeshiko retrieved it from the hanger and laid it on the bed. Now, shoes... "Wellies." They were the closest thing I had to boots and they matched the green ensemble.

"Sweetie, it's not going to rain today."

I had worked hard to be able to walk in whatever went on my feet, dammit. "Wellies." I said again. As immovable as the Hokage mountain.

There was a sprinkler going in the back garden when we got there and the children already present had turned the lawn into a muddy slide.

Nadeshiko twitched a full body shudder but let go of my hand.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" I cackled, joining the other kids in a suitably spectacular manner by sliding along the most slippery patch of slurry on my bum. The hem of my dress was splashed but other than that... it was only everything under the skirt that was covered toe to waist in mud.

I was going to build a mud fort and make mud pies and maybe have a mud slide race-

"EW!" A little girl (what am I saying? She was at least _five_) with dark purple hair tied up in bunches wrinkled her nose as if I were the personification of a bad smell. "That's disgusting! You're all dirty!" Her friends made accompanying 'ews' and laughed.

I got to my feet, raising one eyebrow as I looked the purplette up and down then scoffed, loudly. "I may be dirty now but tomorrow I'll be clean and you'll still be ugly." I turned on my heel, tossing my short curls and strode in the direction of the children splashing in the puddles.

The splutters were quite satisfying and, really, I shouldn't go about picking on little kids but if the parents didn't curb bullying I certainly wasn't going to sit down and take it. "WHO WANTS TO BUILD A MUD FORT?" I shouted, my filthy hands cupped around my grinning mouth. Naturally, my suggestion warranted cheers from the kids and groaning interventions from the parents.

Life was surprisingly good.

I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

A whole year had passed since my rebirth and I was having a quiet birthday celebration at home. I didn't know if my parents were happy that I was so active or wishing that they had a few more years before I was aware of things like presents.

I even got a cake: a little vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting. I think they were trying to keep chocolate a secret from me so I wouldn't become addicted to it. It was the strangest thing not getting physical cravings for it every month. Now the pangs were purely psychosomatic.

Joining my collection in the toy chest was a stuffed rabbit, a new illustrated book of fairy tales (thicker than the last, score) and a pre-school primer for hiragana.

They were certainly cottoning on quickly, pity I knew hiragana already. I gave it a week before they were buying me the katakana primer. Then things would get interesting.

"And then the swirl goes around- good girl!" Nadeshiko clapped as I completed the page, filling in the last connect-the-dots letter much to the delight of my applauding mother.

"Done." I yawned, stretching out on the floor were we were conducting the lesson in sprawling comfort. Hiragana lessons had proven to be a nice refresher for all of about five minutes before I got bored. The book didn't even have the irregular sounds, only the basic forty-seven. That didn't stop Nadeshiko from being amazed.

"You are such a smart little girl!" I was treated to an enthusiastic hug. "What would you like as a reward for doing so well? Just ask and kaa-chan will do her best to give it to you."

I thought hard for a moment, abandoning the thought of ice cream or a trip to the park before the ideas even fully formed.

"The library. I want to go to the library."

* * *

The children's library had been trampled in the Kyuubi attack but the shinobi library and the adult civilian one had been left relatively unscathed. Naturally, I was taken to the adult one, which did have a small section of children's books originally designed to keep little ones from disturbing their elders but it had been temporary expanded to store some of the books that had survived the roof collapsing in on them at their old home.

I longed for Sophocles, Milton or Woolf, something complex and beautifully devoid of pictures before my brain turned to mush. I couldn't grow up fast enough it seemed but, unfortunately, there were no English books and my kanji knowledge was no where near the level of classics.

Unable to even read the signs designating different sections, I allowed myself to be carried to the children's section to be read to.

By the end of the week, I was the one reading to Nadeshiko. Another week and I had finished the newly bought katakana primers and started on basic kanji.

Naturally, I was taken to a specialist.

* * *

The lady looked down at me over her oval glasses, I immediately disliked her, both for the use of baby talk and for not waiting for me to respond before talking to my parents.

"Well, I'm sure she's a lovely little girl, Haruno-san," she told my father, "but you have to understand, we have so many parents in here, believing that their child is a genius and it's actually rare that even an above average intelligence manages to manifest itself at this age."

"Yoshitaka-sensei," Yukito broached as respectfully as possible, "as we explained to the secretary when we booked the appointment, our child is not only already walking and talking but reading, writing and arguing- logically. Sakura-chan doesn't just repeat what we tell her but formulates arguments. I haven't seen most of it," he nodded in the direction of Nadeshiko, "but my wife has seen it all and she is not prone to over-exaggeration."

"Hmm." Yoshitaka Mizuru adjusted her glasses, bearing the full weight of her grey eyes down on me. "Very well, let's try a few tests." She took a thick stack of cards out of her desk. "What is this?"

"The ocean." I responded from Nadehiko's lap, instantly.

Yoshitaka's bored demeanour faltered momentarily. "All right. And this one?"

"A lizard." I added, for extra flare: "a reptile, they lay eggs and are cold blooded." I had poured over a couple of animal books with Nadeshiko in the library so it was information no one could be suspicious of a 'genius' knowing.

The questions fired more rapidly now, my parents beaming as Yoshitaka grew more and more fervent to find something I didn't know. There were a few kanji cards she flashed at me I genuinely didn't know but other than that, she didn't have anything in her office to test me with so she started to free-style.

Urg. _Maths. _That was one thing I hadn't been exposed to in this lifetime, Yoshitaka looked positively relieved when I just shrugged at the simple addition she had laid out before me.

"Well, you need to work on her number skills and drum those kanji into her head, I'll provide you with some worksheets to get started with. It really is best to begin young, like you have, but mind that you work equally on all areas."

Nadeshiko laughed, bouncing me on her knee as Yukito's arm wrapped around her and tickled my stomach, coaxing out a surprised shriek followed by giggles. "Oh, we only really started trying to teach her after Sakura-chan started talking."

Yoshitaka spluttered and I tried not to cackle into Nadeshiko's collarbone. The sensei thought I had been trained- ha! If only she knew.

We left shortly after, another appointment booked in a month with a different specialist now that Yoshitaka had graded me in terms of ability. Joining a pre-school early was mentioned, as were club pursuits, though not for a couple of years at least.

We left, our lives not much affected by what had transpired but, for my parents at least, confirmed and given some more direction, with the promise of more support in the future. It was a beautiful day and we went to the park, buying fresh fruit from the market and ice lollies which inevitably ended up staining my t-shirt. I was carried home half asleep (I still needed a lot of rest to grow) and tucked into bed to dream happy dreams.

I wish I could return to those carefree times.

* * *

Four years later...

* * *

"Sakura-chan! It's time to go!"

I stampeded down the stairs, launching myself at Nadeshiko three steps from the ground floor and she caught me with a twirl. "Oooff!" She pantomimed. "I think you're getting a bit big to be doing that, Sakura-chan."

I raised a pale pink brow at her, unimpressed. I was five and still a knobbly-kneed wisp of a child. I was just tall enough to clamour onto the bunker when I wanted to raid the kitchen cupboards and my hair was no longer in baby curls but straight, usually braided into one or two tails. I was hardly a body-builder.

It had taken more than four years, during which I was the dutiful genius daughter but I managed to persuade my parents into sending me to the shinobi prep school. It was free, I'd argued, and it had exceptional academic support, a pass into previously restricted library collections (not all of them jutsu) and so much more.

The clincher, I think, was that I'd been very restrained about more career discussions. Approaching my parents from a purely academic stand-point and making them think I'd forgotten all about becoming a shinobi had paid off.

Now I just had to survive ninja school. I took a deep breath as I walked hand-in-hand with Nadeshiko and prepared myself for the familiar faces of people whom I knew better than they did themselves.

First impressions were important, enough that I'd actually cared about my appearance: a single braid hairstyle, dark blue shorts, lilac tunic and ninja sandals. Emblazoned on the back of the Chinese style top was the painstakingly stitched white ring of the Haruno clan. Well, It would be a clan, someday, when I proved myself a capable ninja and either adopted or had children to continue my line. I would be able to put my clan name and symbol forward officially after making Chuunin, meaning my parents and possibly my distant cousins too would reap clan benefits. That was years in the future though and Nadeshiko didn't know what I had planned, she had stitched the ring on request, thinking just I didn't want to be left out in the playground.

'Confidence. Intelligence but don't show off, let others have a turn. Help but don't be good at everything, ask for help in return.' It would be the first time I'd met most of the ninja kids and previously, even if I'd seen one, I'd had no reason to talk to them. I was something of a big sister for the kids in the neighbourhood but I was home-schooled, spent lots of time in the library and had a batty old lady come teach me the biwa twice a week. There wasn't much time or opportunity for interaction with my 'peers' and I hoped I did well with the ninja kids.

I couldn't change the future. I had to be the best academically, Sasuke the best overall and Naruto the dead last, otherwise we wouldn't be on a team together. That didn't mean I couldn't be their friend and maybe bring them together while I was at it.

'Hey, you know some psychology and sociology, even criminology- what are the odds a couple of kids could run rings around this little scheme?'

I was doomed. Absolutely _doomed_.

* * *

"Bye kaa-chan." I hugged Nadeshiko around the waist as she sniffled before kneeling to meet my eyes.

"Be good, oh..." She flustered, smoothing my fringe. "Make lots of friends and have fun."

"Not 'learn lots' and 'study hard'?" I quirked a brow.

Nadeshiko laughed, hugging me again. "As if I have to tell you that." She stood, patting my bag absently although we'd already packed it together and she knew it had everything I needed. "Love you."

One more squeeze. "Love you too." I pulled away. "It's only until the afternoon, kaa-chan."

Her green eyes were large and sorrowful. "I suppose it is, until tomorrow and the day after and the day after that."

There was no answer for that, really.

It was not a war zone. There weren't children running about on the desks (I had done that, back in primary, we had made a circle of desks and raced each other), nor were they blowing things up or trying to kill one another (as one might expect from mini shinobi). They were just-

Inuzuka Kiba barrelled past me, Akamaru on his head as he screamed a war cry and beat his chest. Someone squeaked behind her, a traumatised Hyuuga Hinata pressed herself against the wall as Kiba flew past them. I winced as I remembered Hinata had been kidnapped from her bed a scant year previously, around about the same time her 'nii-san' started treating her like crap.

The rest of the class room, although not as exuberant as Kiba, were still talking loudly in an attempt to be the noisiest. Hinata, Shino, Sasuke, Shikamaru- the usual suspects were all clammed up but they were the minority.

One at a time. I told myself.

"Hi, my name's Haruno Sakura." I smiled at the little heiress in a way I hoped was reassuring. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hy- Hyuuga H- Hinata." She stuttered. "Please treat me kindly." She bowed gracefully, though her hands were clasped tightly and trembling.

"Hey- it's okay, you don't have to so formal!" I touched her shoulder, not at all liking how she flinched at the touch. "We're classmates after all," I continued, "and I hope we can be friends in the future so please, don't use keigo, okay?"

"F- friends?" Hinata's eyes were wide, shocked and a little hopeful. They were beautiful, if a little eerie for their lack of pupils. "I- I would like that very much S- Sakura-san."

"Sa-ku-ra." I rapped her feather-light on the forehead for every syllable. "No 'san', call me 'chan' or no suffix at all." I laughed on the inside. "I'm too young to be a 'san'."

"O-Oh, okay, S- Sakura-chan." Hinata trembled, blushing a little.

I beamed back and took her hand unceremoniously. "Let's go find a seat somewhere quiet, 'kay, Hinata-chan?" I led her to the back of the classroom, where Shikamaru was already sleeping at his desk with Chouji next to him, munching crisps and Shino further down the row. We sat at the unoccupied column in the same row, furthest to the right. Hinata made a bee-line for the window seat so no one else could sit next to her.

I had a lot of work cut out for me.

"Would you like to draw? I brought my new colouring pencils."

"O-oh, yes please, Sakura-chan."

"Okay!" I chirped, rummaging for the pencil case and sketch book. I tore off a couple of pages for Hinata and put the pencils between us. She started shyly at first but soon a garden scene started to form. I wondered if she had her flower pressing hobby yet.

It was heartening to see, that her drawing was a happy one, art could tell a lot about a child's well-being and Hinata wasn't exhibiting any worrying signs through this medium at least. Shy strokes but bright colours (there were muted pencils to choose from) and a good grasp of perspective- Hinata didn't show any worrying signs, she was even rather good for a five year old.

I did a squiggle drawing- a free-form mess of spirals, zig-zags and loop-the-loops the gaps of which I then painstakingly coloured in. It was a simple design which didn't show up Hinata's drawing. When her garden sketch was almost done I smiled over at her. "That's really pretty. Is that your garden?"

"Mnhm." She nodded shyly. "The wisteria will come out soon and it will all look like this." She gestured to the lilac spiralling down from what looked like eaves. It was the first time I'd heard her talk so long without stuttering.

"All right, children, everyone find a seat!" A man in a chuunin vest shouted over the noise from the front. It wasn't Iruka or Mizuki or the kunoichi trainer for that matter, no one I recognised. Short sandy hair, green eyes and scars like claw marks arching his left brow from central forehead to the corner of his eye. "My name is Imada Kunosuke and I'm going to be your teacher this year." He gripped the podium a little too tightly which I could see even from the back and I wondered if it was his first time teaching or whether he just got back from a particularly harrowing mission.

Considering the exuberance of the kids, it was just as likely to be the former.

"Now, before we gets started I'm going to call your names on the register, say 'here' when I call your name and yours only. Then if you have any questions-"

"When do we start learning cool jutsu?" Kiba piped up, earning a few laughs from his classmates.

Imada-sensei twitched. "Questions _after_ the register. Okay, first-"

"I'M SORRY I'M LATE!" A familiar orange-clad blond blur burst through the door and Imada-sensei's demeanour changed from twitchy to down-right furious.

"Take your seat! How dare you come here so late- the whole point of having an eight o'clock start is so everyone will get here in time!" The clock did read half past, and I, along with most of the children, had arrived early.

"I'm really sorry, sensei but I don't have an alarm clock and no one woke me up and I tried to stay up all night but I fell asleep anyway-"

"SIT. DOWN." A ripple went through the class as the children shuddered in unison. Was that killing intent? It was very weak if it was, Imada-sensei must be stamping down on the worst of it but a little still trickled out.

Naruto blanched then scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets and stalking over to a seat in the second last row, one in front of Hinata and I. The only place he could sit without being next to anyone.

The teacher ran through the register as if nothing had happened, only pausing to add a touch of venom to Naruto's name. By lunch time, everyone was talking about it.

* * *

"My parents told me to stay away from him!" One girl hissed, getting a chorus of nods from the others clustered around her. I recognised her as Ayame, one of the original Sakura's early antagonists and the younger sister of a similarly purple-haired girl I'd once insulted at a mud-slide barbecue.

I sighed. "And so the lines are drawn in the sand."

"Hmm? What do you m-mean, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked quietly from my elbow. We were sitting under one of the large trees in the lower form playground. It was unique in the Academy as being the only one without missile targets and sparring dummies, though it didn't have swings or a sandpit either, just trees, mud-ponds and picnic benches.

"This whole atmosphere, people trying to get higher on the pecking order by putting someone else down, it's disgusting."

"A-ah." Hinata frowned and I wondered how much she understood. The Hyuuga clan were the type for political intrigue but I wasn't sure how much she's been exposed to.

Naruto looked so desolate, sitting by himself and it was just plain weird to have maternal instincts so young. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"W-wait, Sakura-chan!" Hinata covered her mouth, returning to a decibel count almost in the negative numbers. "We can't talk to him."

Obviously Hinata hadn't been dazzled with Naruto's spirit of fire yet. "He's lonely and he's _five_, same as us, he's not dangerous."

"T-the Copy Cat ninja w-was a full ninja at f-four."

"Well, he's not Hatake Kakashi, is he." I tugged her in the blond's direction. "If he's mean to you I'll give him a smack but I don't think he will be."

Hinata burrowed her face into my shoulder (I could feel the heat pouring off her cheeks) and tightened her grip on my hand. I couldn't tell if she was scared or embarrassed. Probably both.

"Hey." I said without preamble, more casual than my earlier greeting. "I'm Sakura and this is Hinata. Wanna come eat with us?" Every child in the playground fixed a judgemental gaze on them. Over forty students, two classes. In a few years there would be only one class and nine successful graduates.

Naruto looked up hopefully then back down to where his sandal scuffed in the dirt. "I don't have any lunch. Fujimoto-san didn't -I mean- she forgot to pack a lunch for me."

"Well," I stamped down a flare of anger. "My kaa-chan packed too much so you can share with me. You like egg rolls?"

"Er, yeah!" Naruto chirped enthusiastically.

"Good, I'm not too keen on them." We led him over to the tree and within minutes even Hinata was warming up to the new addition to our group, even the looks we got slipped away after a while as the children found something else to do.

"W-would you l-like some more, Naruto-kun?" She held up her bentou, offering him another onigiri.

"Un, thanks, Hinata-chan!" Naruto ate like a starving man, like it would be taken away from him if he didn't gannet it down.

It was painful to watch. "If you eat slower, you feel fuller from eating less."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay." Naruto nibbled away at a corner, dubiously. It was plain to see that he was trying hard to alter his habits for the sake of acceptance. Something in my chest clenched painfully.

I nodded, trying to offer praise without being patronising. "I'll ask kaa-chan to make me a bigger lunch for tomorrow. You know, in case Fujimoto-san _forgets _to make you a bentou then too." Our eyes met, mine serious and refusing to let his gaze drop away. He swallowed, knowing I knew.

"R-really?" Bless him, he sounded just like Hinata.

"Yeah." Or I'd make another one myself. I may not be as good at Japanese food as I was at my old native European but I could probably throw something together, even if I still wasn't allowed to use the stove.

"I-I can bring some extra food t-too. B-boys have to e-eat more, I think."

"It doesn't count at our age, Hinata-chan." I chided gently. "It will be the same for a few years yet."

"O-oh. I didn't know."

"I am a wealth of useless facts." I said, pompously, eliciting a quiet giggle.

When the bell rang, we walked back in together and claimed a row to ourselves.

* * *

"So?" Nadeshiko jumped me at the school gate, twirling me around in her arms. "Did you make any friends?"

"Un!" I grinned into her neck. "Put me down and I'll introduce you." She did so and I dragged her over to where Hinata waited by a tree, trying to sink into the shadow of it. "Hinata-chan~!"

She jumped, startled. "Sakura-chan!" She tottered into the sunlight, blinking from the light and was almost immediately swept up by my mother. "Eeep!"

"Oh I'm so glad to meet you!" Nadeshisko cuddled the poor, bewildered Hyuuga. "Sakura-chan has never had a friend her own age before, babies and librarians _do not_ count, oooooh, do say that you will come over for a play date some time?"

"Eeep."

"Kaa-chan, can't you wait a little while to embarrass Hinata-chan?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry." The redhead put Hinata down, smoothing the girl's hair absent-mindedly. Her eyes flickered to the unmarked forehead then away again. Hinata blushed heavily but Nadeshiko pretended it was nothing. "You're welcome to come over and visit any time, Hinata-chan."

"T-thank y-you, Haruno-san."

I looked around for Naruto (he was so small and cute now there was no way Nadeshiko could hate him) but the only blond head I saw was Ino's.

'Dammit, Naruto...'

* * *

The induction week passed quickly, the ninja code was broached upon, a little discipline was instilled (for some of these kids, seemingly for the first time) and our basic academic skills were measured to better gauge what pace the teacher needed to cover things.

Naruto looked like he was sweating buckets during the test but the usual suspects looked like they were doing well- all the shinobi children had some preliminary education and, with the exception of the sleeping Shikamaru, were getting through the pages well enough. Naruto looked close to tears and I longed to squeeze his hand, do something to comfort him but we were all separated for the sake of the test, Hinata sent away with half of the class into the next room to allow for the space needed to keep us from cheating.

Cheating, that lesson would come later.

"All right, children. Hand your papers to the person in front of you until they all get to the front." Naruto blushed and I frowned when the boy in front of him (not one of the eventual Rookie Nine) laughed at Naruto's test answers.

"Can you even write properly?" The brunet hissed maliciously. Naruto scowled, his cheeks puffing up ready to deliver a retort. I was at his shoulder, bumping my hip into his side before he could explode.

"Heeehh!" I stretched. "I hate tests, don't you, Naruto-kun? I wonder if anyone tripped up on trick question twelve." I pointedly looked at the boy in front who became preoccupied with trying to figure out if there was a trick and if he had indeed caught it.

Imada twitched. He was a very twitchy person. "Back to your seat, Sakura. Class isn't over."

"Sure thing, sensei. C'mon, Naruto-kun."

"Uzumaki can stay where he is."

My eyes took a distinctly steely caste, already the other kids had taken the opportunity to slip back into their friendship groups, the exam seating in complete disarray. I decided not to let it slide. "Only him? Why?"

Imada spluttered, although my query had been delivered very mildly. "It is not a student's place to question her teachers. Especially a student so young."

"Hatake Kakashi was a chuunin at six, Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke perked up, turning to stare at me, "graduated the Academy at age seven. You cannot deny that there is a precedent for the younger generation surprising their elders. All I'm asking you is 'why'. Why should Naruto sit by himself when I (and Hinata when she gets back from next door) want him to sit next to us?" I tilted my head. "I cannot imagine why you would vilify Naruto-kun so much, aside from arriving late on the first day he's done nothing wrong." I smiled, as fake as one of Sai's expressions if only it lacked the smugness. "Unless there's another reason you don't like him?"

"Haruno Sakura, sit _down_. Uzumaki, you have detention with me after school. You're obviously being a bad influence."

"But, Sensei-"

"If anyone deserves a detention," I stood my ground, "it's me._ I _questioned your authority."

"Sit. _Down_."

"Sakura-chan..."

"_Make. Me_."

"Imada-sensei, here are the rest of the children..." Iruka stood in the doorway, the other half of our class clinging to his shadows like ducklings to their mother. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Imada was quick to interject, giving me an evil eye.

I pulled Naruto from his seat, cradling his meagre school supplies in my free arm. "Absolutely nothing is the matter, Iruka-sensei." Naruto went without protest to Hinata's regular seat, the most defensible position.

Hinata, scurrying into the classroom through the gap, looked between us and the sensei with a small frown marring her brow. She slipped into the centre seat beside Naruto, the second line of defence and only then did I sit down.

Imada-sensei pretended we didn't exist until lunch time.

* * *

"Well, it's official. We're social lepers." I munched on an octopus sausage after passing the bentou lid laden with half my lunch to Naruto, along with a spare set of chopsticks. Both us girls pointedly ignored Naruto's stumbling efforts with the utensils. Provided we used our own properly, he would pick it up eventually, his sky blue eyes rarely left our hands as he mimicked us.

"What does 'social leper' mean?"

I tried to simplify it, slipping into the more colloquial nuances I often used with Naruto. "A leper is someone who's sick and no one wants to go near 'cos then they'll get sick too. A social leper is the same only everyone won't go near us 'cos they're afraid they'll be unpopular too." Apart from the introverts who wouldn't approach anyone anyway: Shino was talking to his bugs, a likely ally and Sasuke had gone home for lunch today. Shikamaru would never make the first move but if we won him over then Chouji would follow. Or, more likely, if we were friends with Chouji, Shikamaru would slink sleepily into our group.

"You use lots of big words." Naruto scowled, his eyes vulpine slits. He was so quick to slip into a suspicious expression. I remedied the matter by squishing his face. Little brat, when I tried to explain it simply too... "Oiii, Sakuraaa-chaaaaan~!"

"Don't scowl," I chided, "your face will stay like that."

"Huh, really? Really?" He tried to smooth the smooshing I'd inflicted on him.

"I-it's a figure of speech, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered but she went unheard.

"Back," I pulled Naruto's hands down, "to the topic."

"What topic?" The poster child for ADD inquired.

"Social leprosy?" Both of them tethered on the edge of understanding. "Popularity." I sighed. "I mean, it's one thing to be ignored but quite another to be teased and whispered about." I gestured to a unisex gaggle of kids using one of the picnic tables as a 'secret' base. They were talking about us, if the constant looks in our direction were anything to go by and seemed to be egging one another into either talking to us or throwing something in our direction I couldn't quite tell and I didn't particularly want to find out.

"So... what? Not like we can do anything." Naruto kicked a rock, his legs sliding into the dirt from. "People are always like that with me... sorry." He muttered.

"I-it's not your fault, Naruto-kun." Hinata shook her head, short hair whipping her cheeks. "There's n-no reason for them being mean to you."

"Hinata-chan..." Oh my, stars in his eyes and everything. Maybe I had accidentally put a ship into motion. Better than him crushing on me I guess, I was old enough to be his mother, even if my original body hadn't grown past the point of my 'death'. It would have been a trashy teenage pregnancy, but still.

I cleared my throat, five-year-olds were a little young for budding romance. "I don't want to spend the next five to seven years being ostracis- er, left out by our peer- um, classmates." I really needed to tone down the fancy vocabulary though my tutors over the years did so appreciate it. "I think we can get on with a few more people in class at least."

Hinata sipped from her tea canteen, absently pouring Naruto his own cup with an artful grace that looked out of place with a flask. "Who d-do you suggest?"

"Hmm." I looked around the playground, seeing tactics instead of children for a minute. "If this were a game, Shino and Shikamaru would either be super easy, or a hidden quest no one knows how to reach. Ino holds the popular girls in her sway, along with a few of the boys. Turn her to our side and a lot of the others will follow. Kiba is an Inuzuka so either we defer to him as alpha (that's treat him like he's the leader) or show that we're alphas then we'll have started communication at least... though to be honest, if we spoil Akamaru, Kiba won't be able to hate us. Sasuke's a loner and if we're friends with him we could be seen as very popular or very, very hated." I finished my monologue with a sip of strawberry milk.

The Hyuuga heiress clapped, though her smile was a little nervous. "It is a l-little worrying how much thought you've put into this."

"Scaaaaary." Naruto reiterated. "Hey, you finished with that milk?"

"Yeah, sure." I passed him the rest of the carton which he slurped from noisily.

"Hoeeeh!" Hinata squeaked, her mouth covered in shock. "I-i-indirect k-kiss!" She gasped.

"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head, crumpling the carton and putting it with the rest of the rubbish ready for the bin. "What d'ya mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hinata, we're _five. _You can start worrying about that stuff when we're teenagers."

"B-but-"

"What? What did I do?"

"Nothing, Naruto-kun. It's a girl thing. We'll tell you when you're older." I played with an escaped strand of pink hair absent mindedly. "Are you guys free after school today?"

* * *

"Urg." Naruto gagged. "I can't believe the 'secret mystery location' is the _library_."

"I always come here on a Thursday, kaa-chan has an art class." Unrepentant, I herded Naruto through the double doors. "It's the only time I'm allowed to come by myself during the week."

"Yeah?" That usual foxy scowl was firmly in place. "So why bring me?"

I sighed. "Naruto, did anyone teach you how to read?"

He flushed, freezing on the spot before trying to sink into the bright paintings lining the walls. "Hokage-jiji taught me a little but he's really busy. Fujimoto-san was supposed to help, she showed the other kids but... not me. The words... it's like they move. Fujimoto-san told me to stop lying but they do."

Dyslexia. Oh dear. I of all people knew how that could be. I may have a weird mix of my past memories and mentality along with Sakura's intellect but I remembered how hard wrapping my head around things had been in the past. All that remained of my previous wiring was the strength of my visual imagination but once, not too long ago, the letters had all wriggled in streams and the numbers hop-scotched across the page.

I'd have to research dyslexia in this world. They may have discovered the colour filters trick. If not, I would have to invent it.

I settled on some one-on-one support, for now. "I'll help you. There are lots of techniques we can use, everyone learns differently." I took his hand and squeezed. "We can take all the time we need. Okay?"

Blinking rapidly, Naruto nodded curtly, staring at his feet. "'Kay."

Leading Naruto to a secluded table, I passed Ume-san at the front desk, a woman who had known me since I was old enough to toddle. She opened her mouth when she saw Naruto, her eyes narrowing in a frown a hairline's breadth from a glare. I caught her gaze, jerking my chin up in a confrontational gesture and _dared _her to say anything. Shock, if nothing else, granted us unhindered passage.

Naruto stumbled over one of the books that had been a favourite of mine four years ago. Five was a little late to start reading and unless Sarutobi had read him stories this would be the first time that Naruto had access to _books_. Not instant ramen instructions or street signs, or whatever the Hokage threw together with his calligraphy set to get Naruto to sit still for ten minutes but something purely intended for entertainment.

We hadn't been sitting long when Naruto dropped another bombshell.

"'T-the dra-gon was kind and f-air, the pri-n-cess fi-er-ce and sa-vage'... Sakura-chan, what does 'savage' mean?"

"Wild, uncivilised."

"Like when I eat chopstick food with my hands?" Naruto grinned in understanding. "There's never enough chopsticks at the orphanage."

I snapped the pencil I was holding in half. That_ bitch_. Making Naruto eat with his hands, separating him from the other children by making him act like a beast until they all knew and reviled him for his differences... I couldn't be sure but that was what it sounded like.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Naruto-kun." I ruffled his hair, loping an arm around his neck and pulling him into a short one-sided hug. "You're doing good, keep going. When we're done we can practice writing some of the harder words."

Groans met my proclamation and I smiled. "We'll draw a little picture for each word, that way you'll remember better. You can use my colouring pencils. 'Kay?"

"M'kay." Naruto went back to frowning at the page, stumbling over some of the words but gaining confidence as he went.

Fujimoto, my urge to kill is rising...

* * *

A couple of weeks into our first term at the Academy and we were as thick at thieves inside school hours, grabbing what time we could together outside as well. Hinata had a strict schedule to keep to and my own was pretty rigorous, especially since I was now joining Nadeshiko for yoga most mornings and trying to find an archery class that would take someone as young as me. Like the biwa, it was one of those things I'd never had a chance to do.

Besides, I theorised, if Team 7 was to stay unaltered in the future, I had to stay on top academically and average at the physical side of things. Keeping myself flexible was all I took pains to work on, since I knew from experience my manoeuvrability would be the first to go.

It was during one of these early morning sessions that I broached the Naruto topic, subtly. "Kaa-chan?"

"Mhh?" The woman stretched up into an arch, greeting the sun.

I copied her movements, trying to keep my pose locked without straining. "Can kids be bad people?"

"What? Oh, sweetie, is someone picking on you at school? Do I need to talk to your teachers?"

I pulled myself up and twisted my legs into a lotus form. "No one's picking on _me_," ignoring and shooting dirty looks was another matter, "one of the teachers is the problem actually."

"How so?" She frowned, pulling one of her legs behind her head to stretch it.

"Well," I played with one of her curls before tucking it back into the loose knot she held it in. "Imada-sensei is really mean to one of the boys in class, says he's a trouble maker just because he's late sometimes- even when he says 'sorry'. And the boy doesn't bring a lunch to school and sometimes wears the same clothes two days in a row. Sensei says he's lazy but, kaa-chan, no one taught him how to _read_ properly!" I widened my eyes, as if I could think of no worse fate.

Nadeshiko's maternal instincts were booting into overdrive. "Oh the poor baby, a bad home situation perhaps?" She paused, thinking back. "Is this why you asked for a bigger lunch, sweetheart?"

I nodded. "He doesn't get one. He says the lady who takes care of him doesn't give him one." I dropped my voice to a whisper. "He can't hold chopsticks properly, I don't think he gets to use them at the orphanage."

Nadeshiko wrenched her leg down, probably straining something. "Of all the- Ooooh, I'll tear her a new one! How _dare _she! A little boy, my Sakura-chan's age, made to eat like an _animal_!" She stomped into the kitchen, me following at her heels. At first I thought she was going for the knife block but instead she pulled out enough supplies to make three good sized bentou. "Starve one of my little girl's friends... we'll see about that!"

Haruno Nadeshiko was on the warpath. I hoped, after some more informative titbits, that she would be willing to look past Naruto's furry little problem. The image of an abused orphan boy had to be strong enough to conquer that of a rampaging beast and that would take time.

* * *

I dropped the bentou on my desk with a loud thump. It was too big to put in my backpack and it had taken some work to keep Nadeshiko at home. She was already chewing at the bit to meet 'the brave little dear'.

"Urrrg!" Ino shrieked, addressing me directly for the... second, third time? "That lunch is enormous! You're going to get fat!"

I raised my eyebrow, giving her a cool stare. "Good morning to you too, Ino. And it's not all for me, I brought to share." I muttered the last part. "My mother got carried away."

"It's still too much!" Ino protested. "Kunoichi are slim and elegant- you'll move like a wild boar if you eat like that."

"I guess you'd know all about boars, _Ino_." I shot back, I remembered being 'boar-like' in my past life all too well.

She flushed. "Ooooh, you- stupid, huge forehead girl! That's the last time I try to help you!" She stomped off, somehow managing to flick her short hair as if it were a blonde waterfall.

"What is the obsession kids have with dieting anyway?" I muttered.

"Yeah, I know." Chouji piped up from the adjacent row. "Girls are weird about that sort of thing." He munched on a couple of crisps before holding the bag out for me. "Want one?"

"Sure." I fished exactly one out of the bag, crunching half of it in my mouth. Mnnn, cheese and onion, what a delicious combination. Screw the bad breath. "D'ya wanna join us at lunch time? There's too much food for the three of us and you can bring Shikamaru along if you want."

"Yes, please." He smiled at me before nudging his sleeping friend lightly. "How does a picnic sound, Shika'?"

"Mnnff." The spiky haired boy snorted. "Troublesome."

Chouji laughed. "He says that about everything. We'll come."

I nodded with a smile of my own and popped the rest of the potato snack in my mouth. I swallowed quickly when I saw who was at the door. "'Nata-chan! Morning!" I waved.

"A-ah, m-morning." Hinata scurried to out joined desks, blushing at the attention I'd inflicted on her with my jubilations. She unpacked her things silently as I chattered on.

"Kaa-chan packed lots of food, I may have mentioned a few things that made her go mother bear on me but it means we get a real picnic today. The weather's good for it and Chouji and Shikamaru are joining us... Hinata-chan?"

"O-oh, s-sorry!" She smiled wanly from under the cropped curtain of her hair. "I-I am l-listening, S-Sakura-ch-chan." Her stutter hadn't been that bad for weeks.

"'Nata-chan?" Sinking to her hunched level, I tried to catch her eye. "What's wrong?"

"I-i-it's n-nothing. P-please, just- I'm f-fine. R-really."

I sat in the centre seat, Naruto's regular spot now, and pulled her into a hug. "You can tell me anything, 'Nata-chan."

"I-I-I _c-can't_." I had never heard anyone wail so quietly.

"Okay." I petted her hair. "We'll wait until Naruto comes then say you're sick. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the park you like and the wisteria are budding. It looks like a pink snowstorm touched down there, and we can feed the ducks..." I kept petting and murmuring in soft tones to her, keeping one eye on the door and Imada-sensei as he prattled on about different ninja weaponry, its history and uses. Naruto was going to be sad he missed this, it was actually more interesting than most of the lectures they got.

"SORRY I'M LATE, SENSEI!" Naruto, right on cue, burst through the door, clutching the door frame and panting from exertion.

"_Sit down, Uzumaki._" Imada's tongue dripped with venom and the chalk stick snapped in two in his grasp. That was the difference between Imada and Iruka, the volume didn't matter so much as the tone. And there was that hint of killing intent. Was he purposefully associating Naruto with feelings of fear and disgust? Even if the kids didn't pick up on it actively, the subliminal message was a powerful one.

I raised my hand. "Sensei, Hinata-chan doesn't feel well." By this time, the young Hyuuga had dried her tears and just looked flushed and miserable. "Naruto and I are going to escort her to the nurse's office."

Imada twitched. "I hardly think Hyuuga-san needs _two_ escorts." Wow, way to show favouritism to the prestigious clans, he called Sasuke 'Uchiha-san' too. The Hyuuga weren't even one of the founding clans, the Aburame were but Shino didn't get any special treatment. It boiled down to money and prestige in the end and that was what he was teaching these children. 'Disgusting' didn't begin to cover it, when children are segregated for the accomplishments or lack thereof of their families in a school setting, it made my stomach turn.

I shrugged, walking down the isle with Hinata buried into my side. "Then it's one escort and one 'negative influence' whom you are more than happy to be rid of. C'mon, Naruto-kun." Naruto grinned, happy for an excuse to get out of class.

He waved them away, not even trying to deny he wanted Naruto out of their classroom. "I will be expecting you to make up today's lessons."

"Of course." I smiled. "Oh, and sensei? The fuuma shuriken was developed by a member of the fuuma clan by marriage, not by blood and she was based in Amegakure, not Konohakagure." I smirked. "The borders have changed somewhat in the past eighty-three years."

"Haruno!"

"We'll be back in time for lunch." I grabbed Naruto on my way out the door, closing it behind us as Imada dissolved into incoherent splutters and barely censored curses. "Walk, don't run but go quickly. I think I wound him up too much today."

Naruto looked at me like I was his own personal hero. "That was _awesome_, Sakura-chan!"

"Thanks, Naru-kun. Let's go to the park."

"Huh? Park, but you said... ohhhh!"

* * *

We found a bench and wedged Hinata in between us.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Naruto's bottom lip wobbled. "It's not something we did, is it?" Wow. This kid was a master manipulator and he didn't even realise it.

"O-oh no, n-not at all, Naruto-kun!" Hinata waved her hands frantically. "It's nothing t-to do with you, y-you have been so nice to me."

"Then who _isn't_ being nice to you?" I pounced. I remembered all too well the Hyuuga centric episodes that featured Hiashi as a complete bastard- Hinata had been sparring with her father since she could walk and it was his constant belittlement that made her so nervous and self conscious.

"H-he doesn't mean to- I-I mean, it's not his _fault_." She pushed her fingers together in a nervous gesture just starting to develop.

I rubbed circles on her back and Naruto took one of her hands in his. "Start from the top, 'Nata-chan. We'll listen."

It all poured out, how Neji was the top of his class and a year older, that their fathers had been brothers, twins, that Hizashi had sacrificed himself in the clan head's place and it was all, all Hinata's fault. Her fault for being too weak to escape, too stupid to sense the kidnapper before it was too late. And Neji, her cousin and nii-san, blamed Hinata and her father, the whole clan for failing Hizashi and sending him to his death.

By the time she had covered the caged bird seal, Hinata was crying. Peripherally, I wondered if knowledge of the seal was a clan secret and if Hinata would get into trouble for telling us. Perhaps Neji told Naruto in the original time line because the arena was the only place he could speak freely without immediate reprisal. Perhaps, perhaps. I focused on comforting my friend.

"Not your fault, 'Nata." Naruto mumbled into her short locks. "No one's got any excuse to pick on you."

"He's lashing out at you because there's no one else for him to blame," I reasoned, "it's a shame what happened to him but he should see you're hurting too, that you're not the enemy."

Hinata sobbed and clung to us, letting it all out.

* * *

They ended up in a puppy pile, somehow, Hinata breathing gently between us on the grass in a light doze. The shadow of a bruise was splayed across her left cheekbone, barely visible until I brushed her hair behind her ear. Naruto, holding the sleeping Hinata to his chest, tensed, unable to take his eyes off it.

"We'll protect her." He whispered fiercely. "That's what friends do, right?"

I squeezed his shoulder. "We'll all become stronger together." I whispered back. "And watch each other's backs."

He smiled, falling asleep alongside Hinata, grass for his pillow.

Sometime later, after a doze of my own, the neck hairs started to wriggle with tension. Someone was watching and it wasn't the baby-brigade, they were on the other side of the park by the swings and round-about.

"Sneaking up on sleeping kids," I murmured, just loud enough to be heard but hopefully not wake. "That action could be misconstrued."

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

I turned to the voice, disentangling myself until my back was to Hinata's, still sharing body heat in hope she wouldn't wake from the sudden chill. "Last I checked, you weren't a teacher, ANBU-san."

Kakashi, in full ANBU regalia exuded a sense of disapproval, although I couldn't see his expression behind the mask. "Go back to school."

"We will, in a bit. Call this a half day off for sanity's sake." I tilted my head, bringing my chin up to rest in the cradle of my palm. He was still a good distance above me but at least now he was upright in my vision. "Are you the same 'Shinobi-san' I once called down from the rooftops or is that mask a hand-me-down from him?"

ANBU Inu went very still. "Go back to the Academy. Don't make me drag you there." Kakashi disappeared into the trees with a rustle of leaves. I wondered if he let me sense his presence, he must have. Sakura wasn't a sensor type in canon. He must have let his guard down because we were children.

"Hey." I shook Hinata gently, rocking her into Naruto and waking them both. "We need to get going, it's going to be lunch soon."

"Hmm?" Hinata yawned, "the picnic? Did we miss it?"

"What picnic?" Naruto rubbed his eyes.

"Got a big bentou from kaachan so I invited Chouji and Shikamaru to join us today."

"Oh," Naruto blinked, "so we don't have lepers sickness any more?"

"I guess not." I checked my watch, "we've got some time. Feeling better, Hinata-chan?"

She nodded, shyly. "Yes, I'm sorry for being s-such an inconvenience."

"'Nata," Naruto rapped her forehead, something he'd picked up from me, "you're super convenient, no 'in' about you so stop with the silly talk."

"Um..."

They had to drag me up off the grass, I was laughing so hard.

* * *

"Imada-sensei's on the warpath." Shikamaru yawned, the tree trunk seemingly the only thing keeping him upright and semi-conscious. "Has been ever since he found out you skipped. How troublesome."

"Are you feeling better now, Hinata-san?" Chouji smiled over at the young heiress, his chopsticks poised to snatch another morsel as soon as everyone else ate a little more. Either the Akimichi was more restrained in his youth or he had different protocol when the food wasn't his or bought for him. Or he simply might not require the same number of calories that his elder counterpart did.

I really needed to stop over-thinking the behavioural patterns of five-year-olds.

"Yes, thank you Chouji-san, I'm feeling much better now." Hinata smiled back, patting her hair down in an obvious manner that was pointedly ignored. Maybe I should have got some ice for that, or a damp cloth.

"Mmmmn!" Naruto bit into an onigiri with gusto. "Sakura-chan, your kaa-chan's amazing, her food's awesome!"

"I'll tell her, she'll be flattered." I brushed some rice off his chin before going back to the salad. There was something about flower shaped carrot slices that made you want to eat them. It was a conspiracy.

"You know, Sakura-san, you're different than I thought you'd be." Chouji scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"Hmm? How so?"

"Well... I thought you'd be scarier. You keep standing up to Imada-sensei, like you don't care he's the teacher. It's... scary." He shook his head, lost for words. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"Sakura-chan isn't scary!" Naruto jumped up. "She's super cool and nice, take that back!"

"Naruto-kun." I make placating motions. "It's fine, Chouji wasn't meaning it in a horrible way." And it wasn't like Naruto hadn't called me 'scary' just the day before. "Right?"

"Un." He nodded, shoulders hunched a little. Shikamaru, I noticed, had opened his eyes fully and watched intently until Naruto sunk back into his seat.

"Have another egg roll, Chouji, there's sweet and salty so take your pick."

"Thanks, Sakura-san."

"Sakura is fine. 'San' makes me feel old."

The atmosphere lost some of its tenseness though for a while the silence stretched. "So, um," Hinata broached. "Shikamaru-san, your c-clan keeps deer?"

"Yeah."

"O-oh, that's nice."

Awkward.

"You can make medicine from them, right? The antlers?" I inquired, trying to keep the ball rolling.

"I guess. They shed them sometimes, or we prune them." Shikamaru eyed the titbits atop his own bentou, placed there by Chouji, as if calculating how much effort it would take to transfer them from lap level to his mouth. As he wasn't moving, it must have proved too troublesome.

Hinata beamed. "That s-sounds nice. It's good d-deer don't get hurt to make humans feel better."

"How many deer do you have, Shika'?" Naruto seemed to have already forgotten his previous transgressions.

He rolled his eyes. "They're not _mine_, they're my family's and I don't know how many, I never bothered to count them."

"Still..." I took a noisy sip from Hinata's tea flask (how _did_ they stop it over-steeping?), "_Fawns_, they must be adorable this time of year, wobbling about on spring legs." The boys eyed me like I was an extraterrestrial species.

"Oh my, yes!" Hinata cooed, her voice rising a decibel or two above her usual quiet murmur. "They must be so cute!"

"Urgg." Shikamaru face palmed. "Girls. So troublesome..."

* * *

"I've never been invited to someone's house before!" Naruto skipped out of school that afternoon, unperturbed by Imada-sensei verbally ripping them a new one earlier. "Shikamaru's pretty cool for such a sleepy guy!"

"I'm right here you know." Said Nara drawled.

"Oh," Naruto amended his previous statement. "You're pretty cool for a sleepy guy!"

Chouji choked on his snack, thumping his chest to dislodge it as he laughed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." Hinata twirled her fingers together. "I w-would invite you to my house b-but my f-father is very strict about guests." She caught my eyes with a sad moon-hue gaze. "I c-cannot have f-friends over."

"Not your fault, 'Nata." I bumped hips with her and she squeaked when I knocked her off balance a little. I blinked as Hinata's cheeks flushed heavily. "Oh sweet kami..." I glomped her, "you 're as adorable as a basketful of kittens!"

"Eeep!" She squeaked again but didn't wriggle away.

"So..." Shikamaru broached, the three boys a little distance away now that Hinata and I had stopped walking. "How do you manage being the only boy in your group?"

Naruto fox-scowled. "They're cool, even if they get girly a lot. It's nice, sometimes," he defended, thinking of the promise at the park and how safe and loved he felt all tangled together with them, how protective and angry and _belonging_ unlike he'd ever been before.

They reached the school gates, Chouji and Shikamaru breaking off to walk home together. Naruto waved them off. "Bye, Chouji, bye Shika'!" He grinned, turning to go back to the girls when a red haired woman bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She gasped, reaching out to steady him. "Are you all right-" The woman froze, pulling away like his touch burned her. "You- they let you enrol?" Her face rapidly paled and she skirted around him, running into the playground when he was out of arm's reach. "Sakura-chan! We need to go home. Now."

"What- kaa-chan-" I saw a flash of bright blond hair at the gates and Hinata's horrified expression before I was swept up into Nadeshiko's arms and she double-timed it home.

That weekend was possibly the longest of my second life. I wasn't allowed to go outside and my parents debated 'the issue' when they thought I couldn't hear. They never mentioned any taboo terms- 'demon', 'jinchuuriki', '_monster_' but I knew who they were talking about.

I missed the visit to Shikamaru's house, Nadeshiko sent the Naras a letter saying I was sick and had to stay home. I hoped the ultra shy Hinata and the incredibly defensive Naruto would get on all right without me to smooth things over, direct conversation... I had been playing it safe these past couple of weeks. A few stray comments, a little hostility and it would set one or both of them back. They were just kids! Sheltered (in their own way) children- I should be with them!

If one of the elder Naras picked on either of them I'd have their guts for shoelaces. Or a garrotte. Ninja didn't have shoelaces. I was too young for garters, obviously.

My only solace was, as it had so often been in the past, books.

History was one of my favourite subjects and I had a good few tomes on loan from the library or part of my personal collection. Herb lore, ikebana and first aid were the most prominent topics outside of the civilian academics and the Academy requirements. I had bought the first three years of our course books in advance and read all of them through at least once.

That was another thing that had changed since becoming Sakura. My memory was a lot better than it had been. At first, I put it down to being a child again, as toddlers and very young children learned at a rate exponentially faster than that of an adult. However, now at five years old, instead of slowing down now I was past the optimum age of four, my memory seemed to be _getting better_.

I only had to read a book through once to remember it purely as a narrative. A second skim (and it really was a _skim_) and I could recite key passages from memory. A third and final time and I became a human audio book, down to page and paragraph references.

It was in this manner that I had memorised most of the books in my possession, a good few from the local library which, despite knowing them off by heart, I habitually wanted to hoard. No matter how busy I was in any given week I could read at least three to four good sized books in my spare time. That was when I spent most of the day in class or with extra-curricular activities. Factoring in my library days and the time between dinner and sleep, I had between six and twelve books read a week or, in memorisation terms, two or four books learned off by heart. I began to calculate how many books were in the civilian library that I would actually want to read and how long that would take me if I kept up my current reading speed but it started making my head pound when I factored in duplicate copies and my tutoring time with Naruto.

If I ever managed to see Naruto again.

Now that was just stupid. With a touch of teenage angst. Urg.

The time for feeling sorry for oneself is never. Not when you could do anything about your predicament and I could.

There was the matter of my parents, of course, but Naruto was an issue as well. Depending on how I dealt with Nadeshiko and Yukito my attitude might have to at least outwardly change towards Naruto. If I promised to stay away from him but was seen interacting with him and the news then got back to my parents... they would pull me out of the Academy. It may be the only place in the village that offered a completely free education without applying for funding but I had received letters from other institutions in Konoha, some which offered a full or partial scholarship.

In other words, if I pushed too hard, my parents had plenty of other options.

Alternatively I could abandon Naruto altogether, it might even help keep the story on track and ensure that Naruto became the kind of person who would risk his life for the sake of the village.

The thought drilled an icy hole in my heart. Even pretending, pulling Naruto in on the plot, creating a secret code or learning henge to hide my involvement in his life... it was unlikely it would hold up for long. Besides, canon Naruto was friendless. A Naruto who had friends and then lost them might turn out more like Gaara. There was no doubt in my mind that if I abandoned Naruto now, Hinata was likely to follow. Not because she was a bad person but I was the other girl in the equation and her best friend, acting as the mediator between the two of them. If I cut all ties with the young jinchuuriki then Hinata would flounder for a while, bouncing between the two of us but eventually she would settle on me, because I was better able to maintain relationships and possessed a higher social capital than Naruto. I wasn't someone her family despised either.

I suppose I could bluff it. Ask why Naruto was so bad, advocate him as my friend and classmate, throw my whole lot in behind him and demand a proper, solid explanation as to why I should break off my friendship with him. This ran the risk of my parents pulling me out of school anyway, because no matter how much I would hate them for it, they could be doing what they thought best for my well-being. Any good parent would rather their child were alive and miserable than dead from over indulgence.

Was there a way to prove Naruto was the cage, not the beast he contained? Frankly I couldn't see a way without showing my knowledge of Naruto's jinchuuriki status.

Securing my place in the Academy was my first step. The second... well, I'd just have to see what happened.

* * *

"Tou-chan?" I poked my head around the door of his study, clad in a powder pink nightgown and matching bunny slippers. My hair was out of its customary Pippi Longstockings pigtails and slithered down to my waist in crumpled waves.

Yukito pulled off his glasses, rubbing his eyes a little before glancing at the clock. "Sweetheart, it's late, you should be tucked up tight in bed."

"I can't sleep." I shifted my feet in the no-man's-land of the doorway, waiting to be invited in.

He turned in his chair until he faced the door fully and opened his arms, I ran into them and was swept up in a hug.

Nadeshiko was a wonderfully attentive mother, even better than my original one on some counts but Yukito... Yukito was better in every way than that over grown child called my father in my previous life. Responsible, kind, a little quirky, and willing to listen to my opinion before passing judgement. I had never tested that attribute under such strain before.

"What's the matter?" He smoothed a curl behind one of my ears, cuddling me to his chest and rocking me gently as if I were an overgrown baby.

I shrugged despondently, acting like my physical age as I played with his long ivory ponytail.

"Is it about how me and kaachan have been acting lately?"

I nodded. "Can I go back to school tomorrow?"

He sighed. "That's what your mother and I are trying to decide."

"Without asking me?" My eyes watered and I tugged at the little fistful of hair in my grasp plaintively.

"It's a very grown up decision sweetheart," Yukito chided and in that moment I wanted to scream 'I'm twenty-six, don't I get to make my own decisions!?'. "And there's a lot of things we can't talk to you about."

"Is it about Naruto?" I dropped the suffix, so he didn't have heart attack. "Kaa-chan started acting funny when she bumped into him. Why? Naruto's not a bad person."

"Sometimes," Yukito's voice took on a hint of steel, "people hide who they really are. Sometimes even the nicest people are evil inside."

I frowned, meeting his eyes now for maximum effect. "Have you ever met Naruto, tou-chan?"

"Well, I-"

"Have you ever talked to him?"

"Princess, it's not a matter of talking to it-"

"Naruto is the boy I told kaa-chan about," I went for the throat, "the one who never brings a bentou to school, who was always hungry and tired who comes in to the Academy with _bruises_." I lied about that last bit, though I knew he healed I also knew that Fujimoto or someone else in Naruto's life was heavy-handed, just from the blond's body language. "If Naruto _were_ to become a bad person, wouldn't it be because everyone was horrible to him?"

"Sakura-chan-"

"If Naruto were a bad person, wouldn't he hurt people? The only person I see getting hurt is _him_."

Yukito took a deep breath, I could almost hear him counting down from ten and I let him have that time to calm. "Sakura-chan, I _don't_ want you spending time with that boy. He is dangerous... whether he means to be or not. I don't want you getting hurt, okay?"

I refused to respond to the question. "I'm going back to school tomorrow. I want a balanced education and I miss Hinata-chan."

"Yes I suppose you will," he stroked my hair and the gesture was no longer as comforting as it had been a minute ago, "but I hope you'll remember what I said, I'll be speaking to your teacher about the subject too."

"Naruto isn't a subject. He's a human being." I could see he didn't believe me.

"Princess, sometimes in life there are hard choices to be made. You can either choose to be friends with... Naruto or you can choose to finish your tenure at the Academy early. It's up to you."

A line had been drawn in the sand.

I was going to need a storm to blow it away.

* * *

I was walked to school the next day by a Nadeshiko whose smile was a little strained and her grip a touch too tight on my hand. I waved at her from the gate until she was out of sight then began jogging down the street in the opposite direction.

Psychology dictated that if you want to overcome an authority figure (or, in my case, authority _figures_) and reasoning doesn't work, one must either overcome them through more direct confrontation or go over their heads.

The Hokage tower was not a grand structure, it had been made by the Shodaime like all of the others in Konoha from that time period. Now it was patched and worn about the edges, a cheery, lop-sided red building which looked welcoming enough but was no doubt crawling with unseen ANBU.

On the ground floor was the missions desk and, despite Sarutobi being stationed there in the anime he was not there today. I walked across the room with casual purpose, hoping that such airs would ensure no one tried to stop me. Either my attitude or the onlookers lack of care granted me passage and I slipped past a new genin team and their jounin sensei to the stairs.

This, I reflected, would be a lot easier if I were able to hop straight to the window. I couldn't recall how to get the the office via a civilian route and, frankly, there was probably a reason why none of the ninja bothered using the door.

Naturally, there were no sign posts telling me which way to go, although some doors were marked with things like 'storage' and 'administrative offices', all generic names which likely aimed to confuse.

I stopped short in the hallway, my slightly too-big sandals scuffing the floor as I did so. What if the passageway was a genjutsu? I hadn't even begun to feel chakra, never mind use it for dispelling techniques. At least if I were caught in an illusion I would be safe, perhaps scolded for skipping school and sent on my way. I was a citizen of Konoha and a little girl besides. In Sarutobi's village, I was safe from those within my own nation's defence force. I kept that mantra running through my head like a broken record.

Now, if only I could find that blasted door... I knew the office was somewhere near the top of the building so whenever I saw a set of stairs I climbed them. The lack of foot traffic did nothing to dissuade my genjutsu fears.

Just as I was pondering on the possibility of an illusion that made me think I was walking up instead of down, a ninja launched himself through the open window on the right, landing lightly in the corridor in front of me.

If it were Gai, he might have launched in with a 'DYNAMIC ENTRY' and I would have been able to trick him into taking me to the Hokage with a few tears and a few key phrases like 'necessary to stop the flames of youth from being snuffed out' or something along those lines. If it were Kakashi, I could recycle his doctrine of 'those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'. Even if it were Hayate, I could use our past encounter to cajole him, perhaps telling him I might not have survived without his aid during the evacuation (which could very well be true) and at the very least he might have remembered and retained some fondness of me.

Unfortunately, the ninja was none of these people but a man in his mid-twenties with spiked brown hair, dressed in standard chuunin or jounin level garb with his forehead protector tied across his temples. Ordinary, even somewhat plain if not for the large burn scar which wrinkled the left side of his face, the side I got a good look at from my angle in the corridor before he turned to face me.

We stared at each other for a moment, then, he spoke.

"You shouldn't be up here. Are you lost, little ojou-san?" Raido crouched down to my level, showing he had some experience with kids but his expression remained stern.

I bobbed my head, trying to keep eye contact without looking at the scar, it proved difficult, that thing was like a neon sign lighting up the sky on an otherwise dark night. "I am a little lost. Can you help me, shinobi-san?"

"Sure, I can take you downstairs. Then someone can take you home. Or should you be in school? Does one of your parents work in the building?"

I backed up a half step when he reached to either pick me up or take my hand. "A 'no' to all of the above, shinobi-san. I'm meant to be here, the place I'm looking for isn't on the ground floor."

He raised and eyebrow. "Uhuh. Well, I'm afraid without someone escorting you, you really shouldn't be up here."

I backed up another half step. "Shinobi-san, what do you do if one of your friends is in danger?"

Raidou blinked. "I help them of course."

"And if you can't?" I pressed. "If you're too small or too weak to help them, what do you do then?"

Realisation began to dawn. "Then I find someone who can help."

"One of my friends needs help and I can't do anything about it. I don't know how child services works or who to contact or how long it would take to help my friend." I worried my bottom lip. "If I could find the Hokage's office and explain to him what's going on -take just two minutes of his time- then I know that he'll do something to help. Or," I amended, "if he tells me every thing's all right, that I have somehow been over-reacting I'll believe him." I met Raidou's eyes, trying to instil both maturity and pleading in my gaze. "I'm already going to be in a lot of trouble for coming here, can you at least make my punishment mean something?"

He held my gaze for a long time, until my eyes started to water from the strain and he sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair and scowling. Finally he took my hand. "Come on then, time is money."

"Eh?" I stumbled before falling into step as best I could with his long strides. "You're taking me to Hokage-sama's office?"

"Might as well, I'm going there anyway and if the Hokage doesn't want to see you I can always drop you off with one of his secretaries."

I beamed, attempting to hug him around the waist while still keeping pace. "Thank you so much, shinobi-san!"

He shook me off a little awkwardly. "Don't thank me, it's not my job to say 'yes' or 'no' to anyone about something like this. Now hurry up."

We got to the office a few minutes later, which had indeed been up another couple of flights of stairs and I was panting a little when we got there. I really needed to do some more exercise, concentrating on my cardio.

"Wait out here while I give my report, don't open the door, don't make any noise, just wait." He fixed me with a hard stare. "If you're patient the Hokage might see you but if you kick up a fuss out here then he won't care what you have to say, got it?"

"Yes, sir." My toes curled into the straps of my sandals, involuntarily.

"Good," he softened. "Just sit out here, I shouldn't be too long."

"'Kay."

Raidou went in, closing the door behind him and I settled down against the wall opposite the door to wait.

* * *

I didn't have a watch with me, so I couldn't be sure how long I was waiting, long enough to re-read the interesting bits of 'From Seed to Sprout: The Formative Years of Konohagakure' in my head and get started on 'Traditional Ikebana Arrangements Through the Seasons'. Finally, the door opened and Sarutobi Hiruzen was smiling down at me, a wrinkly hand held out to help me up from seiza.

"Hello little kunoichi, I hear you have some news for me?"

I took his hand, wincing as the pins and needles made themselves felt through my lower body. "Yes, Hokage-sama." I settled on, wondering exactly how much he knew about me, that I attended the Academy, rather than one of the civilian schools. It showed dedication, that he paid attention to even the youngest students, though many of them would drop out before the final year. In fact, since the first school year was purely academic, a lot of students attended so their families could save the money that would have otherwise been spent on their first year at another school.

"Well, why don't we go into my office and we can talk all about it." Raidou had evidently left via the window by the time Sarutobi led me in, lifting me up into the chair directly across from his desk which was designed for much larger persons. My feet dangled a good few inches off the floor. Sarutobi took the time to get comfortable in his own seat, smoothing out his robes and looking for all the world like a kindly old grandfather. "So, what can I do for you today?"

I cleared my throat nervously before beginning. "I wish to report a case of child abuse. Uzumaki Naruto," Hiruzen sharpened at the name, "is one of my best friends and although I've only known his since the beginning of term it is already evident that there is something very wrong with his current circumstances." I began counting off on my fingers. "He is treated differently not only by most of the Academy teachers but also by the woman who runs the orphanage in comparison to every other child under their care. Imada-sensei's treatment of Naruto is frankly appalling: sensei blames Naruto for the behaviour of others and expects the worst of him although to my knowledge he has done nothing more than be late for class a few times. Naruto says he had never met Imada-sensei before the first day of term."

I swept my legs up under me so they no longer dangled, which also gave me an artificial feeling of height, before I continued counting off grievances. "Fujimoto-san does not care for Naruto's well-being, this is shown by the lack of a packed lunch everyday and the fact that Naruto is never picked up or dropped off at school, even though the other orphanage children in our year are given bentou and assigned older students also in the system to walk them home."

Sarutobi's expression was gradually darkening and although the glower was not directed at me I was not unaffected by the subtle air of killing intent. I swallowed. "Physical, emotional and educational well-being... Naruto is deficient in all of them, although I have tried to tutor him a little, bring extra lunches and both Hinata and I have offered emotional support, I worry for him." The Hokage gave no sign of interrupting me and although my throat already felt dry from talking I continued.

"Naruto has done nothing to deserve this treatment from anyone, I- I have questioned it, I've _hypothesised_ but the fact remains that there is no reason for what I have witnessed." I met the old man's eyes, pleadingly. "My parents have threatened to pull me from the Academy if I do not sever all ties with Naruto. I want to be a shinobi of Konoha but I will not abandon one of my friends for anything. I don't doubt that Naruto and Hinata would still care for me even if I led a civilian life but they are going to be shinobi and... and I want to fight alongside them, help them, not be protected for the rest of my life."

"How would you approach the situation?" The killing intent was gone, like it were never there, unlike Imada-sensei's brand of it which seemed to linger like a bad smell for a few minutes.

"I... I don't know. That was why I came to you, because nothing I can think of has a one hundred percent chance of success."

"I think," the Hokage smiled genially, "that very little in life has perfect odds and I would like to hear your views before I proceed. It seems I have missed a great deal of what has been going on in this village," he waved a wrinkled hand at the room's surrounds, "perhaps I spend too much time in this dusty old tower and when I do venture out I fail to see the truth or my people strive to hide it from me."

I blushed a little self-consciously. Surely the Hokage knew some of it? What with his crystal ball and his army of ninja and... very little time to concern himself with the well-being of one child, even if it were the son of the Yondaime. "Um," I stuttered, "there's not much you can do as a whole, if everyone in the village hates Naruto it will be difficult to change their views and as far as I can tell," I stole a glance at him from behind my fringe, "almost all the adults hate him for some reason and most of the children follow that example. Imada-sensei is... not a good teacher. He is twitchy, I suspect he is suffering from a mild form of PTSD?"

Sarutobi gave no confirmation, gesturing for me to continue.

"It's not that noticeable a lot of the time but when the class gets too loud he does not react well, what's more, he sometimes spends more time putting Naruto down than teaching the class." I paused, trying to keep the account accurate. "Well, that is an overstatement, it's probably only an accumulated twenty minutes everyday that he's shouting, asking questions he knows Naruto can't answer or lecturing him even if he's done nothing wrong. Kiba's -Inuzuka Kiba's- dog, Akamaru fouled the carpet last week and Imada-sensei tried to make Naruto clean it up." I scowled. "I don't apologise for losing my temper at that man, even Kiba thought it was out of order and he's one of the most insensitive, bullheaded boys in the whole class." I realised I was going off topic and tried to rein myself in. "Anyway, add that to Imada-sensei's use of killing intent-"

"Kunosuke uses killing intent? In the classroom?" Sarutobi cut in, his expression hard.

"Yes? I think that's what it is. It's not very strong but it feels horrible, makes everyone uncomfortable and sometimes a little sick. I don't know if it's unintentional or whether Imada-sensei is trying to make us associate Naruto with negative feelings."

"A powerful psychological weapon," the Hokage nodded, "especially for such young children. Please continue."

"Well, Iruka-sensei, um, Umino Iruka, the assistant teacher for the second years? He's the only one on campus who doesn't seem to mind Naruto, he treats him... not quite like the other children but not hostility either. If possible, I would recommend making Iruka-sensei our permanent teacher, preferably until Naruto graduates." I gripped the chair, leaning toward the desk earnestly. "If the class weren't exposed to negative opinion everyday, they might begin to see past the general animosity."

"Hmm, a valid suggestion," I got the feeling Sarutobi was humouring me, that he had already reached similar conclusions, or I should at least stop explaining simple sociological principles to someone older than both my lives put together. "Iruka-kun would make a fine full-time teacher I'm sure and he has almost all the qualifications already, yes, certainly doable..." He jotted something down on a sheet of paper in front of him, his strokes moving faster than I could follow. "There is still the matter of your parents, it would be a disappointment to lose such a bright young mind from the shinobi ranks."

Again, I blushed. "That was why I came to you, Hokage-sama. When an authority figure is an obstacle and refuses to back down through discussion or debate," I rambled, reneging on my promise to stop lecturing a legendary ninja who happened to be the leader of my village, "then the only thing to do is jump the chain of command." I played with the hem of my skirt. "My parents respect you and your policies. Both of them are avid amateur historians," it was them who had kindled my love of the subject, "and they realise that Konoha could be in far worse hands, if the village followed the lead of some of the other countries." Perhaps I was piling it on a little thick. "Anyway, I figured that if you talked to them, convinced them that Naruto will do me no harm, I could stay on at the Academy." Shrugging, I added, "if they'll listen to anyone, it's you."

Sarutobi nodded, eyeing me over the steeple of his clasped hands. "I will take that into consideration, Sakura-kun."

'Kun', usually used for boys or subordinates, it can be a term of endearment, not as impersonal as 'san', nor as reverent, but it carried it's own brand of respect, especially for girls my aged who were usually assigned the cutesy 'chan'.

I straightened in the chair, my smile and another wave of blushing curving up my face. Bowing over my knees I finally felt the weight of worry being listed off my shoulders, replaced by one of responsibility. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

* * *

I arrived back at school well after lunch time, realising now I wasn't in such a state of worry that I was hungry. All in all I had spent a good four and a half hours on my endeavour but it would hopefully pay off.

Naturally, when I sauntered into the classroom at a quarter to one, Imada-sensei preformed a full body twitch. "HARUNO!" He had only ever shouted at Naruto so loudly. "What time do you call this!?"

"I may not have left with permission but I arrive with it." I answered ambiguously, holding out the 'pass slip' between two fingers.

He snatched the letter from me, paling when he saw the seal on it and chakra activated it with a little burst which I couldn't see but felt like a small, near silent thunderclap. Imada went chalk-pale and I smirked, sweeping past him to my usual seat to hug my friends.

"Miss me?" I giggled when they glomped back with combined ferocity.

"Where were you?" Naruto was the first to stage-whisper, "and why does Imada-sensei look like bad milk?"

Hinata butted in politely, somehow managing to pull it off. "Are you feeling better now, Sakura-chan?"

I grinned. "Much better, 'Nata-chan."

The other children sent our table speculative looks until it was time to go home and for once, Imada-sensei didn't even try to keep the class's attention.

* * *

We had passed a lot of notes during class time, explaining where I'd been and what I'd been doing so that when we exited the building for the frontal playground where the parents picked up their kids, Naruto was subdued.

"I wish you hadn't done that. It's fine, I'm fine and jiji might pull me out of school now or send me somewhere worse. Fujimoto-san isn't that bad, mostly she just ignored me-"

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata squeezed his hand. "There's n-no excuse for p-people being mean to you. The Hokage will help now h-he knows."

"But now he's going to think I can't look after myself!" The blond looked near tears. "That I'm stupid and weak and I don't deserve to be a ninja!"

"Naruto..." I tried to take his other hand but he wrenched it away, clutching Hinata's jacket instead. "Naruto, it's going to get better. I promise things will be better." I rambled. "If it doesn't then you can hate me but I-I wanted to _help_-" Much to my dismay my words caught in my throat and tears started rolling down my cheeks. "Please, j-just wait and see before you hate me."

Both of them stared at me , then Naruto sniffled, crying in earnest before beginning to bawl. "'M sorry, Sakura-chaaaan, don't cryyyy!" Naruto wailed.

Hinata sniffled too, hugging the red-faced Naruto to her and looking over at me pleadingly as a few droplets of moisture escaped her wide lavender eyes in sympathy. "Don't c-c-cry N-Naruto-kun!"

"Both of you s-stop crying~!" I sobbed, hugging the both of them as our cries rose into a crescendo.

Uchiha Itachi was picking up his little brother that day, a rare event in the general scheme of things and as soon as Sasuke saw the chuunin, he ran for the older boy's legs. "Nii-san!"

"Hello, ototou, did you have a good day today?"

"Yeah, it was all right." The brunet shrugged, keeping one eye on his three crying classmates under a tree at the far end of the courtyard like they might launch themselves at him at a moment's notice and get snot all over him.

Itachi raised one eyebrow. "Why are they crying?"

"Don't ask me," Sasuke dragged Itachi through the gates. "They're _insane_."

* * *

A.N.: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Despite the fact that I don't plan to continue this, I would love to hear your thoughts on how to improve or any ideas you have for future chapters- you never know, you might spark something.

HOWEVER, please, _please_ don't start saying you prefer this over Memories of Rain. You will break my heart. This story got a lot further in terms of canon character interaction so I can understand if you do like this more than what I have written so far for the Memories verse, since you already know and like more characters in this (and I am hopelessly stalled with MoR). Saying you want me to dump MoR for this will still kill me inside however so please bear that in mind if you are going to review.


	2. Skyrim: The Grey

Yes, this is another story, one which I shouldn't be working on. One which wasn't even on my poll. Rest assured, this is low priority fun which has been sitting on my hard drive for ages.

There are a ton of Skyrim self-inserts on this site. This is (the start of) my attempt at breaking both the Imperial/Stormcloak and game engine constraints. I'm working on another (OC, non-self insert) Skyrim story which explores more of the ancient lore, history and customs of Tamriel. Again, not a high priority story but I do intend to continue them both.

Check my profile for status updates.

* * *

The Grey

My head lolled to the motion of a wagon, every dip and bump was felt by the tense coil of my spine, yet if not for the crisp chill crawling across every inch of exposed skin I may have fallen back asleep again.

But wake I did, fighting a wince as bright sunlight stung my eyes and made the pounding in my head increase its tempo until it was a proverbial tattoo in the back of my skull. I tried to touch the affected area only to find that my hands had been bound in front of me with rough rope; this if nothing else startled me from my daze and I lurched into an upright sitting position and blinked around me to try and make sense of everything.

I was in a wagon full of prisoners, most wearing sky blue hues, with a soldier who looked like a Roman legionnaire dressed in well-worn regalia holding the reins. The horse snorted and whinnied softly as its hooves trod the frozen ground, following the wagon in front, and winter-touched trees pressed in around me in a seemingly impenetrable barrier of reaching arms. It was an achingly familiar scene.

"Hey, you, finally awake?" The man across from me to my left spoke up, "you were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us."

With those words I knew where I was and though not _why_ or _how,_ what little knowledge I had was enough to make me groan and drag my frozen feet up onto the seat, burying my face in my knees as if to block out the world. The _imaginary world_ which I had been _forcibly landed in_.

"And that thief over there," Ralof continued to talk as if my life wasn't crumbling down about my ears.

"Damn you Stormcloaks." Lokir spat. "Skyrim was fine until you came along," I wondered if he was talking about more than the border crossing, if he was an Imperial supporter... then I reminded myself that he would be dead soon enough and what was the use pondering on the drives of minor characters? "Empire was nice and lazy, if they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now."

Hammerfell, home of the Redguards, borders Skyrim, High Rock and Cyrodiil. It is a desert land which I knew little about having never played _Redguard_ myself, or read much about the game either. It got terrible reviews.

Was there a reason that Lokir would choose Hammerfell when there were two other countries bordering Skyrim? Well, if he was trying to avoid Imperial troops I can see why he wouldn't go to the middle province- personally I would have chosen High Rock, because I had played _Daggerfall _extensively as a child, although my knowledge of current events wasn't fantastic. It was just my luck that I had spent so much time researching the Dawn and Merethic eras only to find myself in the Fourth Era.

I never got around to finishing _Oblivion_ and had spent so long doing side quests in _Skyrim_, I'd only completed the main quest line once. I hated the bickering of the two major factions and throughout the game had wanted nothing more than to bash the collective craniums of the Imperials and Stormcloaks together until they all saw _sense_.

Now, naturally, I was stuck in between the two armies and had to choose (I hated this part of starting a new game!) which of the two evils to align myself with so I didn't die facing Alduin.

Oh Holy- was I the player character? There was only four people in the wagon. Was I the _Dragonborn_? Oh no, no, no-

"You there." Lokir cut short my train of thought. "You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." Ralof's derisive tone on the word 'thief' belied his words. He certainly didn't consider someone like Lokir a 'brother'.

"Shut up back there!" The nasal voice of the Imperial driver snapped out over our heads but it went largely ignored.

"What's wrong with him, huh?" Lokir asked after a long moment, unable or unwilling to keep his mouth shut.

Nervousness or defiance, Ralof reprimanded him anyway. "Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the _true_ High King!" There hadn't been a moot so no, Ralof couldn't claim anyone was High King or not. It was a little silly to jump the gun either way.

"Ulfric... The Jarl of Windhelm." Lokir breathed, looking across to the bound and gagged man before him. "You're the leader of the rebellion- but if they captured you... Oh Gods!" His shock was so palpable that I was almost ready to revise my opinion of Lokir's allegiance but then he spoke again. "Where are they taking us?"

Of course, Lokir was a thief, a True Neutral if ever he was one. Well, I shouldn't judge, it wasn't like I hadn't played thieves and assassins in the past- most of the time I'd added some kind of criminal element in fact. I'd like to think my character creation was a little more complex than Lokir's though. Generic class creations were so very _dull_.

"I don't know where we're going." Ralof sighed, defeated. "But Sovngarde awaits."

"No! This can't be happening, this isn't happening!" An edge of desperation was creeping into Lokir's voice and for good reason, most crimes were prison offences. In _Skyrim_ you could kill random citizens, steal from nobles and set chickens on fire with little rebuke. The most you'd get is a bounty and subsequent time in prison. I suppose the laws might be different given that this wasn't a video game any more (and that in itself was a_ terrifying prospect_) but surely there wasn't usually a death penalty for stealing a horse?

"Hey, what village were you from, Horse-Thief?"

"Why do you care?"

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."

I snorted, the first noise I'd made since I woke up. "Home is what most people think about at times like this, there is no racial diversity in that regard."

"Rorikstead." Lokir spoke, his eyes clouded in reminiscence. "I'm from Rorikstead."

"General Tullius, sir!" An Imperial called out, "the headsman is waiting, sir."

My stomach twisted at the thought. No matter what happened today, no matter what path I took in the future, I would witness a public execution in a few short minutes. I had no doubt that it would be the first of many deaths I would see in this world but it would mark the beginning of my changed life.

I prayed, as an Agnostic so seldom does, to any God that might hear me, that this nightmare might end so I could return home. Home to my nice warm bed, to my peaceful country where there were no dragons, or trolls, or any thing else with intentions to maul me as soon as I stepped foot out the door.

The soldier kept talking but by this time I had blocked him out, I felt numb as Lokir starting listing the names of Gods under his breath.

"Look at him, General Tullius, the military Governor!" Ralof spat. "And it looks like the Thalmor are with him."

"Oh joy..." I mumbled with great sarcasm into my knees.

Ralof concurred. "Damn elves, I bet they're got something to do with this."

High Elves were my favourite playable race in _Skyrim_ because of the magicka boost and Highborn perk, which were useful no matter what level you were. If I had been feeling less sorry for myself I might have defended the mer population but really, all the High Elves I'd seen in Skyrim were pretty full of themselves.

"This is Helgen." Ralof spoke and from his look in my direction this seemed to be for my benefit.

"Mnn." I nodded. "Is it strange that an execution would take place here? Because this strikes me as a location of convenience." We rolled into Helgen and I cast my gaze about, knowing that this would be my last chance to see the place before it was a burned-out, bandit-infested hovel.

Rolaf huffed in agreement, "they fear taking Jarl Ulfric to Solitude for a proper trial. Better to end us quickly before our brothers and sisters can mount a rescue, they think."

"And thus, in the mad scramble to get rid of you quickly..." I gestured between Lokir and I. "We get the short end of the stick. Lovely."

"I used to be sweet on a girl here, she lived in a house just across the way." Rolaf unknowingly deviated from his prescribed lines. "I wonder if Veela is still making that mead with juniper berries..."

"I think we could all use a stiff drink right about now." I quipped and Ralof smiled faintly, if only for a moment.

"Who are they, daddy?" A young boy's voice piped up and the sound made my heart clench. How many children would die today? If only someone would listen when I told them to evacuate... yeah, right, like anyone would listen if I told them that, I was a woman of indistinguishable race, dressed in strange clothes... there was no way they'd believe me. I was thankful that I wasn't wearing the rags that new characters were allocated but my t-shirt, jeans and light boots were hardly winter wear.

"Get inside the house, _now_." The father ushered his son inside and I realised that I had once again zoned out. I hoped it wasn't a symptom of my head injury.

"Yes, papa." "Get these prisoners out of the cart!" "Why are we stopping?" "Why do you think?"

Everything was moving so fast and by the time Ralof spoke his iconic line, my stomach was a writhing pit and I was clutching my knees like a child would a teddy bear in the dark of night.

"End of the line. Let's go." Ralof looked across from me and I nodded even as my head swam. I really needed to pull myself together, if I could just trick myself into thinking this was a game- no, it was too realistic for that, every scent, sight and sound was tangible and impossible to ignore. There was nothing resembling a _game_ in all of this.

...If not a game, then how about a play? I had been very involved in dramatical pursuits before I went to university and while I was hardly a fantastic actress I wasn't terrible either. I had always enjoyed coming up with reasons for characters acting the way they did, had delighted in delivering ambiguous lines multiple times in a wide range of emotions. One script could be read a thousand different ways and that had been one of the things I loved about the _Elder Scrolls_ game series.

Who said my fate was set in stone? There was no divine hand guiding my actions, no programmed code or assigned script to restrict me. Like _hell_ I would take this lying down.

I stood up as the order went out amidst Lokir's desperate cries and although I swayed a little I convinced myself it was because I'd gone numb from sitting still so long. Just like in the game, the player character trailed out last and I alighted solid ground just as the only other non-Stormcloak tried to convince Ralof to speak in our defence. The fact he said 'we' was a little touching and I revised my 'True Neutral' assessment.

"Whatever you do," I decided to speak up, "don't try to run. Bleeding out from an arrow in your back is a slower death than by a headman's axe."

Lokir whimpered and I replayed the opening sequence in my mind, silently calculating how long Lokir's escape attempt had taken and if he didn't run... shit, I really should have thought that move through. I was going to go to the block second, the Stormcloak in front of me would jump the gun and if I followed as I was meant to then I'd get my head chopped off before Alduin showed up.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

"Empire loves their damn lists..." Ralof said, jerking me from my thoughts once again, I really needed to keep my head in the game.

"Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, of Windhelm." Was the first name called out and the Nord beside me bowed his head.

"It was an honour to serve with you, Jarl Ulfric."

"Ralof of Riverwood." I remembered that Hadvar and Ralof were both from the same town, I wondered how well they knew one another, if they had played together as children, how many people had this war torn apart? "Lokir of Rorikstead."

Lokir whimpered, stumbling forward and hesitating between the lines of prisoners and the road to freedom. After a long moment he bowed his head and fell into line.

Well, shit.

"Wait, you there, step forward."

My moment to shine. I walked forward as slowly as I dared, light-headedness threatening to make me faint but no- I was playing a role, what role I don't know but fainting (or pretending to) would be a last resort I think. Evidently I was taking too long because I was called again. "You... Breton, forward!"

Breton? Huh. I suppose that made sense. I was short, dark haired and pale. I wondered if I had the abilities of a Breton or whether this was still my old body in every sense of the word. It would be interesting to see if I had new racial abilities, if I lived that long.

Now, what did I know about Bretons and High Rock? The land used to be divided into hundreds of cities, now there was only a handful, Daggerfall and Wayrest among them. The Lilac Bay surrounded the oldest structure in Tamriel, a tower reputedly build by the Divines themselves at the beginning of the world. The Mages Guild is a strong establishment (or did that change after _Oblivion_?) and children are tested at a young age for spell casting ability. The Forsworn have Gaelic names but most Bretons have those of French origin. What else? Oh, the populous is split into three factions: the ruling nobles who apparently have very complicated politics, a merchant class and the peasantry. Not very different from how it used to be on Earth in many countries.

I didn't know how much of an Imperial or Aldmeri presence there was in High Rock right now, for all I knew it could be a conquered land. Knowing so little of current events I would have to bullshit like never before.

"You. Who are you?"

That's my cue. I stepped forward, keeping my head held high as I hoped that it didn't look ridiculous that someone as short as I was staring down someone over six foot.

"I am Lyra Aragon of Daggerfall," I projected as I had been taught, my tone hiding the fear and trepidation I felt. 'Aragon' is a French surname and 'Lyra' was the only thing I could think of which sounded Breton (even canon names had deserted me now). Normally when creating a new character, I look up lists of names previously used and either copied one or jumbled common suffixes and prefixes. I hadn't played a Breton since _Oblivion_ and I couldn't remember what I called her. "I am the daughter of Arathorn Aragon and I demand to know of what crime I am being accused of!"

Hadvar blinked, evidently not expecting my response. "You're from Daggerfall, Breton? Fleeing from some court intrigue I imagine."

"My name," I swallowed the heart in my throat, "is 'Lyra' and you may address me as 'Lady Aragon'. There shall be no intrigue at court, only an outcry when news reaches my father's ears of the abhorrent treatment I have received at Imperial hands this day! I will ask again, of what _crime_ am I being accused of?" I arched a brow, tilting my chin up all the higher and refusing to let my gaze drop.

Hadvar scanned up and down his sheet as if it would hold answers. "I... I don't know. Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list..."

"Forget the list, she goes to the block."

"Excuse me?" I tried to sound less terrified and more justifiably insulted. "Is it a common practice to summarily execute innocent bystanders, least of all those whose deaths will spark an _international incident_? I demand that you identify which crime I am being accused of and then try me before a court of law!"

"You can demand all you want, princess," The captain snarled, grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling my face close, "but we don't need a court to kill rebels."

"By all means," I threw my bound hands up in exasperation with an accompanying roll of my eyes, "kindly showcase for all assembled here how swiftly your beloved Imperial order falls apart- when you cannot subdue via your precious laws and regulations you resort to physical violence! Anyone with eyes can see that myself and that man over there," I flicked my hands in Lokir's direction, "are no more Stormcloak rebels than you are!"

"This one dies first." My heart stopped in my chest but I dug my feet in as she attempted to drag me into line. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad time to faint now? No, I had to keep this up, Alduin would come soon, I just had to stall...

"Are you willing to risk your career over this altercation, Captain?" I stumbled past the line of Stormcloaks and one would-be horse-thief. "My life is on the line but I always can die tomorrow, if _you_ make a mistake of this calibre, all for the sake of a clerical error, the kindest fate open to you will be an honourable discharge."

The captain drew short. I could see the dried blood on the headman's block from here, a fresh basket was already laid out ready and I swallowed bile. "Death is irreversible captain, and some mistakes are unforgivable."

"General Tullius," the captain did not loosen her grip as she addressed her commanding officer, "what are your orders?"

The man looked considering for a moment, it was the sort of expression one would don when choosing between chicken or beef for dinner, not whether or not to sentence a young woman to death. "The line of Aragon sounds familiar to me but I never claimed to understand the intricacies of Breton politics. What say you, Elenwen?"

The Aldmeri looked me up and down before telling the captain to "check her hands." I blinked as the captain did so, resisting the urge to snatch them back as the captain ran calloused fingers over my palms.

"Soft," she declared, "this one hasn't worked a day in her life."

I bristled at that, I'd like to see _her_ slog through the twelve-hour shifts I had pulled in the university library, staring at itty-bitty text until I thought my eyes might bleed out their sockets. I'd like _her_ to write the first draft of a dissertation in under four days after months of jumbled research, on a topic so obscure that none of my professors even knew how to mark it when I finally completed it.

Bite me, I'm an academic and proud of it.

And also inordinately happy that I sometimes moisturised my hands. Holy crap, my lacklustre beauty regime had actually saved my life. I was never going to preach on the uselessness of appearances ever again.

"Well, there you have it," Elenwen shrugged, "she is someone of importance. Perhaps a ransom would be of more aid to the war effort than another rebel's death."

"What should I do with her?" Hadvar asked as the captain finally let me go.

"We have enough cells, take her down there after we are finished here." The captain looked to Tullius for confirmation and he (thankfully) nodded.

I felt as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I wasn't going to the block. I was going to live, if only for a little while longer.

From the distance, I heard Alduin's first cry.

Everyone glanced around but a moment later all continued as expected, Ulfric was reviled in front of the crowd, his crimes listed as his first comrade was called forward. The priestess of Arkay began to invoke the 'eight' Divines and the Stormcloak naturally took offence- whether you believed Talos was a God or not, it was a low blow to rub your own non-belief in someone's face right before they died.

The man walked to the block without fear and I winced as he was pushed to his knees by the imperial captain whom I was really starting to hate.

"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?"

Another cry rang out and a dark shape crested overhead. "What in Oblivion was that?"

"Deux ex machina." I grinned and someone on my left looked sharply in my direction. I didn't look around to see who it was because I was too busy craning my head to see another glimpse of Alduin but I felt their gaze on me all the while.

The headman raised his axe but was rocked off his feet a moment later as -sure enough- Alduin landed atop the tower in all his deathly glory.

"DRAGON!" I shouted as everyone stood about flabbergasted, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Because really, who hasn't wanted to scream that once in their lives?

Alduin roared his first Thu'um and I thanked my lucky stars that the prisoners weren't where he was aiming for.

Wait, there was one thing that I'd wanted to do in the game and hadn't been able to...

I ran to Ulfric, fumbling with my bound hands for his gag. "You blew apart a king, think you can take on a dragon?" I asked as I pulled back the gag and removed the waded cloth from between his teeth.

Ulfric looked at me with pale eyes which seemed to gaze right through me then called with a voice of command which did not require the volume I had just employed. "Stormcloaks, to the keep!" Then he drew a breath and, knowing what was coming, I ducked out of the way. "FIIK LO SAH," Ulfric called, closely followed by "IISS SLEN NUS!"

I recognised the first Thu'um used as the one that the Greybeards used to summon spiritual practice dummies. What I hadn't realised was that these constructs could _Shout_. Sure enough, the clone was able to spit ice the same as Ulfric, even if it was a far weaker effect than the original.

Even better- there wasn't the same Shouting time limit as in the game!

That was possibly the first piece of good news I'd heard since I landed here...

"DOVAKIIN!" Alduin rumbled from overhead and I squeaked in fright, realising I was right next to the man who Alduin was aiming for...

I ran like hell, not even looking back to see if anyone made it out of the blast zone. I smelled scorched hair and flesh so I knew someone had been hit. I hoped it wasn't a necessary character- I wanted to keep the game on course a little bit!

The tower was empty when I got there and I smacked my forehead in frustration- of course it was! I'd left everyone out there with a pissed off dragon. If things went as they had in Bethesda's creation then Alduin would smash through the tower wall at some point. With that in mind I wedged myself against the wall of the staircase. There wasn't really anywhere to hide but I was short enough that I didn't think I'd be seen... or roasted if Alduin broke through.

I set to work on my binds, grimacing as I tried to work out the tight knot but it was in an awkward position and was near impossible to grip with my teeth.

The door burst open at that moment but it was not Alduin who entered but Rolaf, closely followed by Ulfric and three other Stormcloaks.

"I see you survived, friend!" Ralof looked positively cheerful even as he supported one of his brothers-in-arms who was wounded, his armour scorched at the shoulder and his face pale. "Then again, with the speed that you ran, I'd be surprised it you didn't!"

Abandoning the knots, I glowered at the blond. "In case you hadn't noticed- there's a _dragon_ outside." I wondered how much to say but thought 'why not', if I established myself a scholar, people would be less suspicious when I let something slip. "And not just any dragon, that's Alduin the World Eater! There's no way I'm tangling with _him_!"

"Alduin?" Ulfric queried, holding still while the only female Stormcloak of their company untied his hands.

"Yes, Alduin! There's only one black dragon in lore- well, only one in the lore that I know of." I tried to remember the verse of prophecy that I had memorised during that long stint of starting new characters every time I died. Yeah, my hardcore stint had died after about five random cliff falls, but the opening loading screen had stuck with me. "The Song of the Dragonborn is a prophecy heralding the dragons' return. How does it go again..." As soon as I remembered the first line the rest flowed like water.

"And the scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold,

That when brothers wage war come unfurled,

Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound,

With a hunger to swallow the world."

I nodded, quite pleased with myself for getting the whole first verse. During my rendition, the Stormcloaks had managed to work their bindings loose and none looked particularly impressed.

"Grave tidings indeed." Ulfric rumbled. "But what does a Breton noble know of Nordic myth?"

I laughed and it was a ghastly sound, too tight and desperate and I choked it down. "Oh, I'm not a noble," or a Breton, "I'm a scholar, I was bluffing back there. A dragon attack wouldn't have been my first guess for a rescue but-"

Alduin roared his fury, blasting a hole in the wall above the size of his head. I screamed as the flames passed over my head, a searing heat which made my skin prickle with sweat and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. It passed after what seemed like an eternity and when it was over I had to check myself to see if I was still intact. Nothing on fire. No pain. I was safe.

"-ra, Lyra!" Someone was shaking me and I looked up to see Ralof leaning over me. "Pull yourself together, lass. We need to get moving."

"What?" I squeaked.

"There are too many Imperials outside, we can use the break in the wall to escape." He pulled me to my feet and dragged me to the hole in the tower. The drop to the ground below looked a lot further than it did in the game...

"Nope. No way. I'll stay here-"

Ralof pushed me, I screamed, barely missing one of the thatch support beams as I fell to the floor below. My feet ached and I was probably gasping like a fish out of water but the fall didn't hurt as much as it should have- hell, at that distance, I should have broken both of my legs. The female Stormcloak and her uninjured male companion were already at ground level and they laughed at my expression. "RALOF YOU BASTARD!" I screamed up at the blond head of hair peeking over the opening. "NEXT TIME I'M GOING TO PUSH _YOU_ OFF THE TOWER AND SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!"

The sound of Ralof's laughter echoed down to me below but the jovial atmosphere evaporated when I turned to see that the Stormcloaks ahead of me had vanished. I could wait for Ralof to jump down with Ulfric but he might go another way. With the broken roof and flimsy walls, I felt intensely exposed here.

So I kept going.

* * *

AN: This story is a direct backlash of playing too much _Skyrim_ and getting annoyed that there weren't more neutral options for the Civil War. It made roleplaying very hard that I couldn't gank the Thalmor more, or make the Stormcloaks and Imperials work together. Both sides of the war have glaring flaws and the game makes it impossible to be sit on the fence entirely, especially with the summit in Dragonsreach (where it's impossible to NOT favour one of two sides). Lyra is my answer to this, even if she has to bash their thick skulls together to make it happen.

How would the story change if both Stormcloaks and Imperials helped one another escape Helgen? If both Ralof and Hadvar went with Lyra to Whiterun? (Bwahaha.)


End file.
